The Federal Trade Commission, which monitors antitrust rules, is expected to engage in a legal argument over virtual reality in the real world.
The FTC attempted to prevent Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, from acquiring Inc.’s virtual reality app developer. This case was resolved on Thursday. You can follow this case through Metaverse News.
In July, the FTC filed a lawsuit to block the acquisition, claiming that Meta’s acquisition would “tend to create a monopoly” in the market for virtual reality (VR) fitness applications. It urged the judge to issue a preliminary injunction to halt the pending transaction.
The trial, which begins on Thursday, will test the FTC’s efforts to prevent what it perceives to be a replay of the company’s attempt to purchase its way to supremacy, this time in the emerging virtual and augmented reality sectors.
In a second case that will be brought in 2020, the FTC will attempt to compel Meta to sell Instagram and WhatsApp, two of its previous acquisitions. At the time of acquisition, neither market was particularly large.
A government victory might impede Meta’s transition into what CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls “the next generation of computers.”
If Meta is unable to acquire other firms in its industry, it will be under more pressure to create its own blockbuster apps and reap the financial, talent, data, and control advantages of bringing outstanding developers in-house. will go away
People pay to access a virtual reality training program. Supernatural guarantees “professional trainers,” “beautiful locations,” and “workouts synchronized to the greatest music.”
According to market research firm IDC, 90% of all virtual reality hardware sold worldwide is Meta’s Quest headgear, which features immersive digital pictures and sounds.
The majority of the over 400 apps in the Quest App Store were created by independent developers. In 2019, MetaQuest acquired Beat Saber, the App Store’s most popular virtual reality application.
Meta is anticipated to assert that the FTC did not adequately define the relevant market and that it competes with a broad array of fitness content, not simply VR fitness apps.
It is also possible that the court will find that the FTC made an error in estimating the level of competition in the VR fitness app market.
In October 2021, the social media business chose to acquire the company the day after it changed its name from Facebook to Meta. This was evidence that it intended to construct the vast virtual realm known as the Metaverse.
Meta did not disclose the deal’s value, but the technology website The Information estimated it to be over $400 million.
Zuckerberg will be summoned as a witness throughout the trial. Possible witnesses include Chief Executive Officer Chris Milk and Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth, who leads the Reality Labs division of the corporation that focuses on the Metaverse.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California is hearing this case.
In addition to defending insider purchases, Zuckerberg was quizzed about Facebook’s virtual reality business strategy and how the firm hoped to recruit third-party developers, according to a court document. May go.
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