The Metaverse: Concepts and Issues for Congress
Congressional Research Service 2
collaborative work.
For example, doctors could be trained in a virtual environment
and view
patients’ biometric information in augmented reality glasses during procedures. Augmented,
mixed, and virtual reality technologies, some enthusiasts argue, may support new ways for users
to interact, work, socialize, transact, and access services in an immersive virtual world, which has
come to be called the metaverse.
The founding Members of the Congressional Caucus on Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality
Technologies (referred to as the Reality Caucus)
have asserted that “[a]s these technologies
develop, questions will inevitably rise in privacy, intellectual property, and other areas.”
Given
the importance of the internet to the domestic and global economy and for health, education,
work, and social interaction, this report seeks to elaborate key concepts, technologies, and
implications of the metaverse to assist Congress in making informed policy decisions.
This report first introduces concepts that many believe will shape the metaverse, focusing on
three core aspects—an immersive user experience, persistent network access, and interoperability.
The report then describes key technologies supporting the metaverse in three categories—
extended reality, fifth-generation (5G) and next-generation wireless communications, and
blockchain.
Next, the report highlights select companies that currently engage in the
development and investment related to the metaverse. The report concludes with a discussion of
selected policy issues for congressional consideration, including content moderation, data
privacy, market power and competition, and the digital divide.
Heather Bellini, Wei Chen, Masaru Sugiyama, et al., Virtual & Augmented Reality: The Next Big Computing
Platform? The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Equity Research, January 13, 2016, p. 16, at
https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/pages/technology-driving-innovation-folder/virtual-and-augmented-reality/
report.pdf.
John Soroushian, Babu Jackson, and Sabine Neschke, Thinking Ahead About XR: Charting a Course for Virtual,
Augmented, and Mixed Reality, Bipartisan Policy Center, April 2022, p. 10, at https://bipartisanpolicy.org/download/?
file=/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/XR-Report_Final-Copy.pdf.
Stefan Brambilla Hall and Cathy Li, What Is the Metaverse? And Why Should We Care? World Economic Forum,
Global Agenda Articles: The Metaverse, October 29, 2021, at https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/10/what-is-the-
metaverse-why-care/. See also Paul Daugherty, Marc Carrel-Billiard, and Michael Blitz, Meet Me in the Metaverse,
Accenture, The Technology Vision 2022 Report, p. 24, 2022, at https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/Thought-
Leadership-Assets/PDF-5/Accenture-Meet-Me-in-the-Metaverse-Full-Report.pdf.
In May 2017, Representatives Suzan DelBene, Yvette Clarke, Bill Flores, Darrell Issa, and Ted Lieu formed the
Congressional Caucus on Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality Technologies for the 115
th
Congress, also known as
the “Reality Caucus.” The purpose of the caucus was to promote the advancing technologies of virtual reality,
augmented reality, and mixed reality to Members of Congress and their staff.
Reps. DelBene, Clarke, Flores, Issa and Lieu, “Reps. DelBene, Clarke, Flores, Issa and Lieu Form Reality Caucus,”
press release, May 3, 2017, at https://delbene.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1953.
For an introduction to the 5G technology, see CRS Report R45485, Fifth-Generation (5G) Telecommunications
Technologies: Issues for Congress, by Jill C. Gallagher and Michael E. DeVine; for an overview of blockchain
applications, see CRS Report R47064, Blockchain: Novel Provenance Applications, by Kristen E. Busch.
For general information of content moderation related to social media, see CRS Report R46662, Social Media:
Misinformation and Content Moderation Issues for Congress, by Jason A. Gallo and Clare Y. Cho; for an introduction
to data privacy law, see CRS In Focus IF11207, Data Protection and Privacy Law: An Introduction, by Stephen P.
Mulligan and Chris D. Linebaugh; for information and analysis of antitrust issues related to large technology
companies, see CRS Report R45910, Antitrust and “Big Tech”, by Jay B. Sykes. The digital divide refers to “the gap
between those who have access to broadband internet and those who do not.” See CRS In Focus IF12030, The
Broadband Digital Divide: What Comes Next for Congress?, by Colby Leigh Rachfal.