Reason Why FTC Is Blocking Meta From Acquiring VR Company, Within
The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is stopping Meta from acquisition of VR Company, Within. On Wednesday, the FTC posted about the news on Twitter.
FTC seeks to block virtual reality giant Meta’s acquisition of popular app creator Within: https://t.co/b87juAolBw
— FTC (@FTC) July 27, 2022
FTC and Meta
In a recent post, FTC stated their reason for stopping Meta from acquiring Within, an independent VR studio behind a fitness app called Supernatural.
FTC stated that Meta is not competing on the merits but wants to buy its way to the top. They also added that Meta is capable of making its VR app that can compete with Within’s Supernatural.
The act could result in slowing future innovation and competitive rivalry. Instead, if Meta chose to enter the market without buying, it would “increase customer choice, innovation, and competitiveness.”
FTC said, “If Meta is allowed to buy Within, that competitive pressure will slacken. That lessening of competition violates the antitrust laws.”
Based on the statement, one of the reasons FTC is stopping Meta is to make a safe environment where companies can show diversity in their products. It also boosts competition among the companies in a good way.
Previously on FTC and Meta
It is not the first time FTC has had an issue with Meta. It happened before Facebook changed its name to Meta. It is related to the acquisition of Whatsapp and Instagram.
In 2020, they said Facebook is “illegally maintaining its social networking monopoly through a years-long course of anticompetitive conduct.”
Since the news dropped, people in the community have been talking about it. They replied with their views on the matter via Twitter.
Good freaking lord. If the FTC plans to simply block all "outsourced R&D" acquisitions, buckle up.
I'm no fan of Meta, but this broad brush approach to anti-trust regulation is going to have *massive* downstream effects for virtually every tech-related industry. https://t.co/7BeXjLPaqy
— Richard Hoeg (@HoegLaw) July 27, 2022
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