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Mark Zuckerberg promises not to buy virtual reality startup as lawsuit accuses Meta of ‘campaign to dominate VR’

By Nagasunder in US business news, posted August 26, 2022

Mark Zuckerberg was dismissed from a current action by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which sought to prevent Meta from acquiring a virtual reality business.

The Facebook billionaire has promised he won't try to buy Within Unlimited personally as a lawsuit continues over Meta's dominance of virtual reality.

The FTC and Zuckerberg reached an agreement that forbids the billionaire from purchasing Within Unlimited, a virtual reality startup, either directly or through any of his companies, based on a court document.

A legal dispute between Meta and the FTC has been ongoing since July over the company's attempts to enter the virtual reality market by purchasing Within Unlimited.

The parent corporation of Facebook, which also owns Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp, has been charged by the FTC with waging a "campaign to dominate VR."

Currently, Meta is the owner of the VR headgear Quest 2 and operates the Meta Quest Store, which houses hundreds of VR applications.

In March 2014, Facebook joined the virtual reality market by purchasing Oculus Rift.

While this is going on, Meta has made it clear that it is not attempting to control the VR industry and claims that the FTC's actions are "based on ideology and supposition, not evidence."

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Meta said in a statement at the time "The idea that this acquisition would lead to anticompetitive outcomes in a dynamic space with as much entry and growth as online and connected fitness is simply not credible,"

"By attacking this deal in a 3-2 vote, the FTC is sending a chilling message to anyone who wishes to innovate in VR."

It is not known if Meta or the FTC sought the condition to remove Zuckerberg from the lawsuit as it moves forward.

Source: Foxbusiness

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