Tech companies’ plunge into the metaverse could put them at even greater risk of landing in the crosshairs of regulators that already have signaled stepped-up enforcement of children’s privacy rights.

The Federal Trade Commission in December sent shockwaves through the video game industry by requiring Fortnite-maker Epic Games to pay $275 million to settle allegations it violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The agency alleged Epic collected personal information from children under age 13 without parental consent and created unreasonable hurdles for parents who wanted to delete the information.