Metaverse real estate sales surpassed $500 million last year, and nearly half of this amount came after Mark Zuckerberg’s October 2021 rebranding of Facebook to “Meta.” (One piece of metaverse “land” went for $4.3 million alone.) This year, the metaverse real estate market has continued to boom, with sales reaching $85 million in the first [...]

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a group of states have reportedly launched an investigation into Meta’s Oculus unit. Oculus is Meta’s virtual reality (VR) headset that customers can use to access metaverse spaces and play three-dimensional online games, complete workout routines, construct personal work spaces, and host meetings. So far, the FTC and states [...]

The two antitrust bills before the Senate Judiciary Committee are showing their warts. The American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA) and the Open App Markets Act, which are set for markup today, have drawn criticism from large numbers of scholars, researchers, and pundits across the political spectrum. I have written about the legislation directly [...]

Facebook’s October announcement that it would become a metaverse company and change its name to Meta created quite a stir. Elon Musk mocked the decision, saying people are unwilling to replace the physical world with a virtual one. Jack Dorsey called it dystopian, and others piled on. But Bill Gates said that most office meetings [...]