Canberra, September 24, 2025 — Australia’s top digital platform regulators have flagged both opportunities and risks in immersive technologies, cautioning that the rapid rise of extended reality (XR) platforms could intensify data privacy and safety challenges.
The Digital Platform Regulators Forum (DP-REG) — comprising the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), the eSafety Commissioner, and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) — published a new working paper examining immersive technologies and their regulatory implications.
The report, Examination of technology – Immersive technologies, warns of intensive data collection tied to XR platforms — including personal and sensitive information — that could expose individuals to new harms in virtual environments. Such risks, the regulators said, cut across competition, consumer protection, communications, privacy, and online safety mandates.
At the same time, the paper highlights potential benefits across industries such as gaming, entertainment, retail, and education. Regulators note that immersive tools can improve digital literacy, broaden accessibility, and enhance learning resources.
The publication supports DP-REG’s 2024–26 strategic priorities, which focus on understanding and responding to the benefits and harms of emerging digital technologies. The immersive technologies report is the fourth paper in the series, following previous studies on:
- Multimodal Foundation Models (MFMs) – exploring benefits and risks of AI models handling multiple data types.
- Large Language Models (LLMs) – assessing their impact on regulatory responsibilities.
- Harms and Risks of Algorithms – a literature review on algorithmic risks to users and society.
Each DP-REG member contributed to the latest paper, underscoring the forum’s aim to deliver a cohesive regulatory approach.
