Meta wants the VR Supernatural app, but the acquisition is ‘illegal’ according to the FTC

There FTC – Federal Trade Commission – ha put in the viewfinder the acquisition of Within from Half, operation announced last October a few after the rebrading of Facebook in Meta. Within makes a popular one virtual reality fitness app call Supernaturalone of the successes of an industry that the company led by Mark Zuckerberg is trying to get off the ground – not without difficulty.

According to the FTC, the operation is illegal why like this Meta does not compete with other companies, but obtains a dominant position by buying up the competition. “Instead of competing on merit, Meta is trying to reach the top,” said John Newman, deputy director of the FTC Bureau of Competition. “Meta already owned a top-selling virtual reality fitness app and had the capabilities to compete even better with Within’s popular Supernatural app. However, Meta has chosen to buy the market position instead of gaining it in merit. This is an illegal acquisition and we will prosecute it. “

Meta owns Oculus VR for the production of headsets such as the Quest 2 and runs a store with over 400 apps. Following the mantra of CEO Zuckerberg, which is to be present on all platforms with “killer app“(WhatsApp and Instagram are case in point), Meta has bought seven of the most successful VR development studios and now has one of the largest VR content catalogs in the world. The acquisition of Beat Games has given Meta the control of the hugely popular Beat Saber app, a kind of Supernatural competitor.

According to the FTC, if Meta bought Within Unlimited it would dampen innovation and competition in the sector, discouraging potential interested parties from investing in VR fitness apps. “The competitive pressure will diminish. This reduction in competition violates antitrust laws” reads a passage in the statement released. “The two companies currently stimulate each other adding new features to attract more users, but the acquisition would do away with that rivalry. “

According to Stephen Peters, a spokesperson for Meta, “the idea that this acquisition could produce anti-competitive results is not credible in a dynamic industry like online and connected fitness […] The FTC is sending a chilling message to anyone wishing to innovate in virtual reality. We are confident that our acquisition of Within will be good for people, developers and the VR industry. “