Meta pushes to throw out FTC's suit over VR fitness acquisition
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Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) is urging a dismissal of the Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit looking to block the company's acquisition of Within Unlimited, maker of popular virtual reality fitness app Supernatural.
In a court filing, Meta says the FTC hasn't shown how its planned deal will hurt competition in VR fitness and says claims about competition in the young space are "pure speculation," Bloomberg reported.
Meanwhile, the FTC had narrowed its objection to the deal by dropping allegations that Meta's game/"stealth" fitness app Beat Saber competes with Within's Supernatural directly - saying Beat Saber is just an "incidental fitness app," and that Meta was likely planning to create its own competitor to Supernatural before embarking on the deal.
The agency has an uphill climb in proving suppressed competition in a young industry, and Bloomberg notes Meta said "The FTCâs attempt to fix its ill-conceived complaint still ignores the facts and the law and relies on pure speculation of a hypothetical future state."
The FTC's suit has received a December court date. It had launched a probe last December, shortly after Meta arranged the $400M deal.
And both Beat Saber and Supernatural got prominent showcases - and some teases for upcoming features - during Meta's revelation of the Quest Pro headset during Meta Connect.