A Meta, mother house to Facebook, again faces scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and multiple US states, and this time it’s its virtual reality division that’s at stake.
According to sources to which a Bloomberg had access, the FTC, as well as a number of states, have been questioning developers of third-party applications for Oculus headsets over the past few months. The objective is to verify if the company is using its dominant position to crush the competition.
At issue is how the Oculus application store may be discriminating against third-party companies that compete with Meta’s software. Apparently, the researchers also want to know more details about the company’s strategy led by Mark Zuckerberg for virtual reality headsets and whether their prices are putting competition at risk.
Previously, developers of third-party applications will have complained that Meta is using its power to eliminate companies that offer “rival” games or services, even claiming that the tech giant copies the ideas it considers most promising.
Remember that after of the North American Justice to have given the right to Facebook, in June 2021, preventing the sale of Instagram and WhatsApp, the FTC returned “to the charge” in August of that year, re-submitting its complaint against the company. Months later, the court that heard the case ruled in favor of the FTC.
Under the ruling, the FTC can now proceed with its antitrust lawsuit against Meta, which could force it to sell Instagram and WhatsApp. In August, the FTC had accused the company to acquire both platforms, formerly its “rivals”, illegally in order to maintain its monopoly.
The antitrust case against Meta’s practices may go ahead, but the FTC will have to present more evidence to be able to force the company to sell the platforms.
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