As important as structural and systematic considerations may be in the real world, they are at least as fundamental to the Metaverse (Flowers, 1995). When Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf conceived the Internet, its essence was the underlying digital structure. The only requirement for any computer network to connect to the Internet was that it conform to that basic structure. The digital structure likewise will shape and limit anything that happens within the Metaverse. As such, Metaverse journalism and how it functions will be subject to these same structural parameters.

This chapter outlines and critically examines the structural and systemic parameters that will define and shape journalism in the Metaverse. In particular, the chapter examines the legal and regulatory framework that constrains or enables journalism in the virtual world (e.g., how principles of freedom of speech and press may apply in the Metaverse) as well as the organizational mechanisms designed into Metaverse platforms that shape their affordances. The chapter considers the structural and systemic factors that will shape privacy in the Metaverse and how that will affect journalistic practice. The chapter examines the economic forces (e.g., revenue sources, ownership structures, system of financial transactions or currency … likely cryptocurrency) that will shape the Metaverse. This includes examining the ownership and financial models that will shape news media entities operating within a Metaverse platform. Finally, the chapter explores the likely organizational parameters of news media within the Metaverse. This means considering the need for a news “room” in the Metaverse, or whether some other collaborative or competitive structures make more sense.

Freedom of Speech and Virtual Press

One of the significant challenges of ensuring robust journalism inside the Metaverse is balancing freedom of speech and virtual press with legal and regulatory protections to ensure an environment that supports intellectual property (IP) rights, protections for privacy, and minimizes harm from mis- and disinformation as generated by AI or otherwise. Regulating something that does not yet exist, or at least is fully formed such as the Metaverse, poses particular challenges (Robertson, 2023). Yet, forming a regulatory structure before the Metaverse is fully formed may help to shape its contours before it is increasingly difficult and disruptive to change.