Mark Zuckerberg bites the dust: the United States sues him and Meta falls 36 percent

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Wednesday sought an injunction preventing Facebook’s parent company, Meta Platforms, from buying virtual reality (VR) content maker Within Unlimited.

The FTC, in an application filed Wednesday in federal court in San Francisco seeking a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction, called Facebook a “global tech giant,” citing ownership of Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp, and said his “campaign to conquer VR” began in 2014 when it acquired Oculus, a manufacturer of VR devices.

The FTC, which voted 3-2 to approve the injunction request, argued that Facebook’s acquisition of Within “would tend to create a monopoly” in the market for dedicated VR fitness apps.

Within has a popular fitness app called “Supernatural.” Facebook agreed to buy Within in October 2021 for an undisclosed sum. The FTC had already filed another antitrust lawsuit against Facebook in 2020.

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Meta said in a statement that it disagreed with the FTC’s analysis of the market. “The FTC’s case is based on ideology and speculation, not evidence. The idea that this acquisition would lead to anti-competitive results in a dynamic space with as much entry and growth as online fitness is simply not credible.”the company said.

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“We are confident that our acquisition of Within will be good for people, developers and the VR space,” Meta said. The FTC argued in its complaint that the planned acquisition was a way for Meta to dominate virtual reality, a new and fast-growing part of the Internet. Revenue from the RV industry is expected to grow from $5 billion last year to more than $12 billion by 2024, the FTC said in its complaint.

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Meta already has the best-selling VR headset, the Quest 2, and runs a Meta Quest store with hundreds of apps. He has bought game makers such as Beat Games, Sanzaru and Ready at Dawn Studios, among others, according to the complaint. “Meta already owns a best-selling VR fitness app, and had the ability to compete even more closely with Within’s popular Supernatural app,” John Newsman, director of the FTC’s Competition Bureau, said in a statement.

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“However, Meta chose to buy the market position rather than earn it on its merits. This is an illegal acquisition, and we will seek all appropriate remedial measures.”

Within, founded in 2014, creates original content for virtual reality and describes itself as “the premier destination for cinematic virtual reality.”

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Investors include venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, investment company Temasek and studios including Disney, 21st Century Fox, Annapurna Pictures and Legendary Pictures, according to its website.

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more problems

Meta (ex-Facebook)the technology company of the young Mark Zuckerberg,

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Specific, reported sales for USD 28,820 milliona figure slightly lower than the USD 28,920 million estimated by Wall Street and 1% lower than that achieved in the same period of the previous year.

For its part, net income fell 36% year-on-year to $6.69 billionleaving an earnings per share of $2.46, when the market consensus was around $2.50.

For the current quarter, Meta expects revenue of between USD 26,000 million and USD 28,500 millionalmost in line with the USD 28.3 billion in the third quarter of 2021.

According to Dave Wehnerfinancial director of the company, the perspective reflects a continuation of the weak advertising demand environment experienced throughout the second trimester and is believed to is being driven by broader macroeconomic uncertainty.

Looking at the statistics of its flagship social network, Facebook, there were 1.968 million average daily active users in June3% more year-on-year.

After the announcements the technology shares fell 2.5% in the post-market wheel. If it opens at this level on the next day, Meta would accumulate a drop of 56% from all-time highs.

• With information from Reuters