Meta Calls FTC Suit to Block VR Fitness Deal ‘Ill-Conceived’
Meta Platforms Inc. urged a judge to reject the US Federal Trade Commission attempt to block the company's acquisition of virtual reality app Within Unlimited, saying the agency's claims about competition in the area are based on “pure speculation.”
Meta argued the FTC hasn't laid out the elements to show the deal announced in October 2021 would hurt potential competition in a still-young VR fitness space, according to a court filing Thursday. The company's argument to US District Judge Edward Davila follows the FTC's move last week to narrow its rationale for blocking the deal.
The FTC's newly amended complaint dropped allegations that Meta's virtual-reality game, Beat Saber, directly competes with Within's Supernatural fitness app. Supernatural is a subscription fitness service where users can work out or meditate to music in immersive environments. The FTC's complaint now calls Beat Saber an “incidental fitness app” and argues that before the acquisition Meta was likely to create its own dedicated fitness app to compete with Within's offering.
Virtual reality is Meta's next big bet as Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg believes that people will want to spend time in a digital universe, called the metaverse. The company previously bought Oculus, which makes VR headsets. Acquisitions like Within are meant to add to the portfolio of experiences for users, bringing them back repeatedly to Meta's products and services.
The Facebook-parent featured Within's Supernatural multiple times during its annual product conference Monday and is making announcements on its behalf, saying that users, for example, will soon be able to add a “knee strike” movement.
The FTC alleges that Meta would kill future competition in a
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