FTC Faces Setback in Attempt to Prevent Meta Acquisition of VR Developer

Back in July 2022, Meta slammed the FTC for attempting to block its acquisition of AR/VR fitness studio Within, the company behind the Supernatural fitness app. The regulator claimed that the purchase would reduce competition in the industry, especially considering that Meta is already a very strong competitor in this market. Today, the FTC has suffered a major setback as a U.S. federal court has declined the regulator’s request to halt the deal.

U.S. District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose has denied the FTC’s demand to block the deal in a sealed court decision made a few hours ago. Although the details of the actual order aren’t public yet, they deal a major setback to the regulator while giving Meta a significant boost in the overall process.

The Wall Street Journal says that while the FTC could still attempt to block the deal through a separate lawsuit filed in its in-house administrative court, it has historically dropped such matters once a ruling against it has been issued by a federal court.

Read the source article at neowin.net