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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday pledged to the Biden Administration not to individually acquire virtual reality (VR) firm Within in exchange for being dropped from a lawsuit in which he appeared as a defendant.
In a statement, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) disclosed the agreement with Zuckerberg, whereby Zuckerberg promises not to purchase Within or its fitness app Supernatural.
The FTC’s lawsuit against Meta —until last October known as Facebook— remains in place, but this one will no longer feature Zuckerberg as a personal defendant.
Last July 27, the government filed an antitrust lawsuit seeking to block Meta’s acquisition of Within.
In its request, the FTC argued that the acquisition of Within by Meta, one of the world’s largest tech companies, would substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly.
It added that such loss of competition could lead to harmful results, such as less innovation, lower quality, higher prices, reduced incentives to attract and retain employees, and less consumer choice.
The FTC called the acquisition “illegal” and noted that Meta could have chosen to compete with Within with its own virtual reality “fitness” apps.
The antitrust complaint was filed against Meta, its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, and Within.
