Take part in shaping the future governance of virtual worlds and Web 4.0. What values and principles should guide its development and use? Join the global debate!
While the governance of the internet is a rather stable although evolving environment, with established international institutions and a strong anchor in the multistakeholder model, the governance of the new frontier for the internet is still an unchartered territory.
In its Communication on Web 4 and Virtual Worlds, the Commission acknowledged the need to engage internationally with the multistakeholder community on a broad scope of issues of technical and content nature. It also emphasised that this technological shift may involve new forms of governance, which require a reflection on the mandates of the current internet governance institutions and about whether other (existing or to be built) institutions should be involved.
The results collected through the form below will feed into the development of guiding principles for the governance of virtual worlds and Web 4.0.
The draft principles will be discussed at the global and multistakeholder High Level Conference on Governance for Web 4.0 and virtual worlds, hosted by the European Commission and the Polish Presidency of the Council on 31 March – 1 April 2025.
The form is divided into three sections: the concept of Web 4.0; the technical aspects of the transition to Web 4.0; and the governance principles for Web 4.0 and virtual worlds.
Please note that apart from contact information, completing the entire form is not mandatory. You can choose to answer the questions that are most relevant to you and fit your expertise. For more information about how we handle your data, please consult our privacy statement.
In case of questions, feel free to contact us!
Before you start, we outline some key concepts below.
The expected fourth generation of the World Wide Web. Using advanced artificial and ambient intelligence, the internet of things, trusted blockchain transactions, virtual worlds and XR capabilities, digital and real objects and environments are fully integrated and communicate with each other, enabling truly intuitive, immersive experiences, seamlessly blending the physical and digital worlds.
Read more
Persistent, immersive environments, based on technologies including 3D and extended reality (XR), which make it possible to blend physical and digital worlds in real time for a variety of purposes such as designing, making simulations, collaborating, learning, socialising, carrying out transactions or providing entertainment.
Read more
Refers to the institutions, rules, policies, standards, and practices that coordinate and shape the global internet’s technical architecture and operation. Due to the internet’s inherently distributed nature, governance involves a diverse range of actors who collaborate to address key issues related to the internet’s infrastructure, usage and impact on society. This includes managing protocols, identifiers, routing, standardisation, security, privacy, and addressing broader societal impacts.
Read more
Refers to the bottom-up, multistakeholder processes, ensuring the meaningful and accountable participation of all stakeholders alongside governments such as the private sector, civil society organisations, the technical community, academia and users. Core institutions that reflect the multistakeholder approach of internet governance are for example the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) or the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
Read more
