Building a Responsible Metaverse When the internet first took hold, it was basically What follows are six areas of focus that viewed as a way to communicate, share organizations should start exploring and information. The internet’s pace of evolution— understanding, right now, to ensure a safe and the challenges that came with it—were and secure metaverse that is as engaging and hard to predict. Hindsight tells us, though, that valuable for businesses as it is for users: companies should adopt frameworks that fit their people, customers and businesses, with 1. Privacy by design and by default responsibility as the North Star. Decisions on 2. Risks and rewards of tokenization everything from privacy to interoperability are 3. Interoperability easier to make when the risks are clearly defined 4. Digital safety and understood, as they were not in the early 5. Sustainability days of the internet. 6. Identity and inclusion Of course, there will always be unknowns in a space where innovation is flourishing. But identifying critical areas of focus and building in guardrails will provide a greater chance of alignment between the intended and actual experiences in the metaverse. The closer this alignment, the greater the trust—and the more successful the metaverse will be. 9