Zuckerberg Accused Of Monopolizing Virtual Reality

December 09, 2022 Story: Divya Sinha

On Thursday, Biden administration accused Meta Platforms of trying to buy its way to dominance in the metaverse.

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This was to block Facebook's parent company from buying the virtual reality app Within Inc.

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The FTC filed a lawsuit in July to block the deal, saying Meta's acquisition of Within tends to create a monopoly in the virtual reality fitness app market.

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It asked a judge to issue an injunction to stop the proposed transaction.

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FTC Attorney Abby Dennis said that Within acquisition was intended to attract a new and more diverse set of virtual reality users.

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Dennis added, this will complement Meta's existing virtual reality audience, who tend to be younger and more gaming-focused.

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Lawyers for Meta and Within argued that companies were competing with a wide variety of fitness content, not just VR-specific fitness apps.

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