Over the last month, Facebook has announced its plan to create an immersive virtual reality “metaverse” where users could interact with others and the digital world around them. However, many experts have already raised data and privacy concerns about the experience. One prominent Facebook critic, early investor Roger McNamee, called the project “dystopian” and a “bad idea” for users.

For its part, Facebook has said that it will create a set of standards and protocols to control the experience, and that the company is committed to safety. However, McNamee believes that the company shouldn’t even be allowed to enter this realm in the first place.

“There’s no way that a regulator or policymaker should be allowing Facebook to operate there [in the metaverse] or get into cryptocurrencies,” he told the BBC. “Facebook should have lost the right to make its own choices. A regulator should be there giving pre-approval for everything they do. The amount of harm they’ve done is incalculable.”

While he’s right that government authorities should probably step up to rein in Facebook, it’s also possible that users will reject this technology on their own. After all, a large share of people already don’t trust the social media giant. Why would they want to enter a virtual world solely created and controlled by the company?

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