The FTC is dropping its plan to block Meta’s takeover of Within. Thus, the American giant can fully engage in VR sports.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has abandoned its plan to ban Meta from buying virtual reality (VR) company Within. According to Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal, the US agency voted to dismiss the case against the giant weeks after a federal court denied its request for a preliminary injunction to prevent the acquisition.
FTC drops its plan to block Meta’s takeover of Within
The FTC initially filed lawsuits in federal court and its own court last year to try to block Meta’s takeover of the company that makes Supernatural’s VR app. At the time, the commission accused Mehta of “trying to buy your climb to the top. .. instead of earning it what you deserved.”She said the company has the resources to enter “the VR fitness market by building its own app”and that this will give consumers more choice and more innovation. When buying Within, the FTC feared Meta would stifle “future innovation and competitive rivalry.”
U.S. District Judge Edward Davila, who presided over the case, ruled in Meta’s favor. While he acknowledged that potentially anti-competitive mergers should be blocked, he concluded that the FTC did not provide sufficient evidence of how the acquisition of Within could harm the market. He also stated that while Meta had massive resources, it “didn’t have the funds to enter such a market except through an acquisition.”
Thus, the American giant can fully engage in VR sports.
Technically, Edward Davila’s decision had no direct impact on the administrative case. However, as noted by The Journal, the antitrust authorities were ready to stop their administrative actions if a federal court refused to issue an injunction. Meta can now be sure that when the acquisition of Within was completed on February 8, the agreement was final.
“We are thrilled that the Within team is joining Meta and we look forward to partnering with such a talented group to bring the future of VR sports to life,” said a Meta Engadget spokesperson.
The FTC exit represents one of the biggest setbacks under Lina Khan, who is known to be very critical of big tech and very tough on antitrust laws. Last December, the agency launched an even bigger challenge by filing a formal appeal to thwart Microsoft’s proposed $68.7 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard. “Microsoft will have the means and the ability to harm competitors by manipulating Activision’s price, reducing the quality of games or the experience offered to players with Activision games on competing consoles or services, changing the terms of access to Activision content, or completely depriving competitors of content that will harm consumers,”- said the FTC.