Prohibition of purchase by meta

Facebook is a leading player in the market with glasses and a platform for VR content. CEO Zuckerberg also stated the goal of establishing a virtual world - the Metaverse - as the future computer platform. The change of the company name from Facebook to Meta also has something to do with this.

Meta wants to buy fitness app

The company Within Unlimited, which Meta is currently looking to buy, is behind a VR fitness app called "Supernatural". The FTC argues that Meta with its "VR empire" wants to occupy this market by buying it up instead of competing for it with its own offer.

The acquisition could lead to less competition and potentially higher prices, the lawsuit filed on Wednesday says. "And Meta would be one step closer to the ultimate goal of owning the entire Metaverse."

Beat Saber too similar?

Meta already owns the well-known VR app "Beat Saber", which is also designed for movement. The company has bought several VR specialists in recent years. According to a media report, Meta wants to spend over 400 million dollars on the purchase of Within, which was announced last autumn.

Meta countered that the FTC complaint was based on "ideology and speculation" rather than facts. The accusation that the takeover would be anti-competitive is "implausible", it said in a blog entry. Among other things, "Beat Saber" and "Supernatural" are fundamentally different, Meta argued.

When you watch the videos, however, it reminds you a lot of Beat Saber. What Supernatural adds are modules for meditation and recovery as well as live coaches who are available in VR.

Under its new head Lina Khan, the FTC is taking a tougher line against the big tech companies, which had long benefited from a rather lax competition watchdog in the US.

Source: Personal / engadget / Youtube