This bill would create a Principal Advisor on Immersive Technology at the Department of Commerce and an Immersive Technology Advisory Panel. The panel would include a chair, a vice chair, Cabinet-level officials (or their designees), and 6–10 outside experts from academia, industry, think tanks, civil society, and other sectors. The panel must meet at least once every four months. The Secretary of Commerce must provide administrative and technical support. The panel would study augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality and how those technologies affect economic competitiveness and national security. The panel must finish a study within 2 years. The Secretary would then submit the panel's findings and recommendations to the Commerce and Energy and Commerce committees within 90 days and publish the report on the White House website.
If enacted, the bill would set up a federal advisor and a multi‑member panel to review immersive technologies and recommend actions. The panel would look at how these technologies affect jobs and many industries, and would make suggestions about technical standards, investments, cybersecurity, commercialization, privacy, accessibility, digital identity, and intellectual property. The panel could influence future federal programs or guidance, but the bill itself only requires study and recommendations, not direct rules or new programs.
No publicly available information on total costs or appropriations. The bill requires the Secretary of Commerce to provide administrative and technical support to the panel, but it does not specify funding amounts or new appropriations.
According to the bill's findings, supporters argue immersive technology is a key emerging platform that affects many parts of the economy and national security. The bill says immersive technology was invented in the United States, that U.S. leadership is important, and that other countries are pursuing strategies to dominate this sector. Supporters would say a coordinated advisory panel and a study can help keep the United States competitive and ensure the technology reflects U.S. values.
No publicly available information.