The ambitions of mark zuckerberg with respect to metaversethe noisy name the billionaire has assigned to the idea of a digital world underpinned by virtual reality and dominated by the parent company of Facebook, Goalhas already entered conflict with government regulators.
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission filed a antitrust lawsuit against Meta seeking to block its acquisition of a virtual reality company called Within, which makes the popular virtual reality app fitness Supernatural.
“You need look no further than the company name change from Facebook to Meta in 2021 to understand its vision and priorities for the future,” the suit says, adding that the purchase would bring Meta “one step closer to her ultimate goal of owning the entire ‘Metaverse'”. “But instead of choosing to compete on the merits through their own fitness dedicated to virtual reality, Meta has resorted to proposing this illegal acquisition. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The lawsuit brings to light an uncomfortable truth for Meta as she pursues her virtual world conquests: the hurdles are piling up. Zuckerberg may have introduced the term “metaverse” into popular usage (it was first coined in the science fiction novel SnowCrash 1992), but despite Meta’s edge, the company faces danger from all angles: regulators, competitors, moderation issues, and an ecosystem weary of potential partners put off by years of Facebook-related baggage. Meanwhile, the company faced last Wednesday, July 27, the first fall in income in its historya blow because Facebook’s gigantic ad machine fuels its metaverse ambitions.
Meta, Facebook’s parent company, declined to answer specific questions about the challenges it faces in realizing its vision of the metaverse, limiting itself to commenting on the FTC’s lawsuit. “The FTC’s case is based on ideology and speculation, not evidence”He said Meta spokesman Christopher Sgro. “The idea that this acquisition would lead to anti-competitive results in a dynamic space with as much entry and growth as the online fitness and connected just isn’t believable.”
Bet on virtual reality
Meta has good reason to trust her metaverse. made a early commitment to virtual reality with its acquisition of Oculus for $2 billion in 2014, then a fledgling platform. The company has also invested heavily in its metaverse projects. Last year, Reality Labs, ground zero for Facebook’s metaverse efforts, lost more than $10 billion. But money and time don’t necessarily translate to success. Other tech giants have already tried: Alphabet’s foray with Google Glass has imploded, while Microsoft’s efforts with its Hololens glasses have so far met with lukewarm reception.
For starters, Meta has to deal with its poor content moderation record. During years, Facebook has been affected by its inability to control harassment, extremism, violence and suicide in its social network. Some of these issues are already spilling over into the metaverse. Earlier this year, BuzzFeed News created a private test world on Meta’s Horizon World app that violated the company’s policies on hate speech. Meta mods ignored it, even after it was reported as violent. Children are also flocking to Horizon Worlds, and experts fear predators will follow them.
Apple, key enemy
As Meta works to establish its metaverse as the next big platform, Zuckerberg has identified Apple as a key enemy. For years, the rivalry between the two companies has been very intense. As Facebook bounced from one privacy scandal to another, Apple CEO Tim Cook criticized the social network’s advertising business, and Meta’s revenue has been hit by new iPhone security barriers to tracking data in applications. Zuckerberg has also criticized the high prices of Apple’s consumer devices.
Zuckerberg apparently believes the two companies are poised for an even bigger battle, with monumental interests: the future of the Internet.
“Apple is going to be a competitor,” Zuckerberg said during a company general meeting earlier this month, according to TheVerge. “It’s not just that they have a device that has a few more features than we do. It is a very deep and philosophical competition about the direction that the Internet should take.
Apple has kept quiet about its virtual and augmented reality plans –and he does not use the word `metaverse’–, but the company is rumored to launch a mixed reality headset soon. The device would be the company’s first entry into a major new category of hardware since the Apple Watch in 2015, and it would be a major initiative as the tech industry tries to draw a line beyond the smartphones.
Apple and Facebook, in the eyes of Zuckerberg, have visions for virtual/augmented reality that are diametrically opposed.. Facebook intends to work with a number of different companies to further its efforts, he told employees, while Apple will do everything itself, an approach the company has taken with all of its other products.
Metaverse Standards Forum, with Apple on the sidelines
Last month, Meta helped launch the Metaverse Standards Forum, a coalition of companies that aims to develop open standards and interoperability in the metaverse. Among the most prominent members are Microsoft, Epic and Nvidia. But one obvious absence is that of Apple. It is also notable that whenever Facebook has attempted large projects that require the involvement of several different partners, such as with its Libra cryptocurrency initiative, its efforts to build its own phone, or connectivity projects such as Internet.org, those efforts have ultimately fizzled out. .
But while Zuckerberg touts the openness of Facebook’s metaverse, Apple’s approach is also open in the area that matters most: its relationship with app developers, said Bob O’Donnell, principal analyst at research firm Technalysis. «Meta has good developer support, but nothing like what Apple has done“, said. Meta will also have a shortfall when it comes to its reputation for privacy.O’Donnell said. “Apple starts with a clear advantage, and Meta with a clear disadvantage.”
Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
Apple is also more adept at selling hardware. Jaron Lanier, a pioneer in the field of virtual reality, said he would like Meta’s business model in the metaverse to focus on selling gadgets and other goods, rather than relying on an advertising model that could be used to “influence peddling.” The model has its limitations, as the decline in income illustrates, so the metaverse could be an opportunity to experiment with something different. “But Meta is really stuck in ideology,” he said. (Lanier currently works for Microsoft, but said he is not speaking for the company.)
Still, Meta has faced challenges in selling hardware. Earlier this week, the company said it was raising the price of its Meta Quest 2 from $300 to $400, a sign that it can’t continue to subsidize its device business as usual.
And Apple, probably Meta’s most formidable competitor, hasn’t even released a product yet.
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Mark Zuckerberg’s road to ‘owning the entire metaverse’ is bumpy – Forbes UK