Meta will have agreed to take a break from acquiring virtual reality content studio Within, Bloomberg advances. This decision comes after the FTC’s regulator, the Federal Trade Commission, have tried to prevent in late July, for Zuckerberg’s company to complete this deal. The FTC action was made preventative mode, because the regulator considers that the Goal is already too big in this field of virtual reality.
Bloomberg indicates that Meta’s lawyers and representatives of this government agency have informed the California court judge that the company has accepted that this acquisition will not materialize. until January 1, 2023 or even the court makes a decision on the matter – the date that occurs first.
“The FTC is trying to prevent virtual reality giant Meta and its major shareholder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, from buying Within Unlimited and its popular fitness-focused virtual reality app, Supernatural,” the statement led by Lina said. Khan in late July.
In this note announcing the decision to try to prevent this acquisition, the agency accuses Meta of “to be a major player at all levels of the virtual reality industry”noting that the company’s “virtual reality empire already includes a top-selling device, a leading app store, plus seven successful developers.” [de aplicações para realidade virtual] and one of the best-selling apps in history.”
Given this scenario, the FTC considered that the technology and Mark Zuckerberg would be “plan to expand the virtual reality empire of Meta with another attempt to illegally acquire a dedicated fitness app that demonstrates the value of VR to users.”
Supernatural, Within’s most popular app, lets you exercise in virtual reality. Through the Meta Quest headphones, the exercise can be performed in paradisiacal settings, from the Galapagos to the ruins of Machu Picchu, or even on the surface of Mars. In addition to training, the app also has a meditation component. In 2020, Time magazine reviewed the app and even called it “one of the best inventions” of the year.
The FTC also said that the technology company is already the largest provider of virtual reality equipment and also the largest in the area of applications.
Meta considered that this FTC action was based “on ideology and speculation, not evidence.” “The idea that this acquisition could lead to anti-competitive results in a dynamic space with as much potential for entry and growth as online and connected fitness is simply not credible,” Meta spokesman Stephen Peters told The Verge. “By attacking this business,” says this spokesperson, “the FTC is sending a chilling message to any business that wants to innovate in virtual reality.” In the eyes of the company, this “purchase of Within will be good for people, for programmers and for the virtual reality space.”
Regulator wants to prevent Facebook owner from buying another VR company
Source: Observadora
