Content governance is complex, and it may face new and interesting challenges as the virtual immersive technologies become more widely used. The current content governance systems are far from perfect, and continuously face new unprecedented situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the technological advancements have so far outpaced the policy and regulatory discussions and initiatives, it is high time to start discussing the issues of content governance in the virtual immersive spaces.

The goal of adding a robust content governance system is to ensure safety, security and trust in the online community. In this article, the Content Policy and Society Lab at Stanford University (CPSL) set the stage for discussions on the particular content governance challenges the metaverse presents.

The report starts with a brief overview of the current content governance challenges on online platforms. Then it discusses the peculiar challenges of content moderation in the metaverse. It concludes with CPSL’s vision on content governance in the metaverse.