Platform companies have created “dominant apps,” Zuckerberg said, which he calls killer apps, “but they’re not the only apps available.”
After the FTC sued the owner of Facebook and Instagram in July to block inside deals and asked a judge to order a preliminary injunction, Meta’s “drive to win VR” began in 2014 when it acquired VR headset maker Oculus. acquired.
The trial is just one of many battles Meta is waging against regulators globally over its alleged dominance in various markets. The European Commission said Monday that it had warned Meta of possible antitrust violations related to online classified advertising.
The company said earlier Tuesday that it does not expect to close the deal before January 31 or until the day after the court rules on the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction.
market dominance
The FTC’s attorneys at trial attempted to show that Meta planned to compete with apps such as Within, arguing that the authorities were looking for ways to expand VR use beyond its existing fan base of young male gamers. Identified fitness as.
They displayed a WhatsApp chat between two META executives in which one, Jason Rubin, said he had told inside executives that META “intended” to get into the fitness segment.
In the chat, Rubin said he relayed to Vidin that Meta could move faster if it had a first-party business — one he owned — but would also “support everyone like we do with games.” Let’s do it together.” He said Zuckerberg was aware of the plan to deliver that message.
Zuckerberg said he did not recall any discussion with Rubin on the subject.
Meta has pumped money into its metaverse-focused Reality Labs unit, recently drawing criticism from investors who have urged Zuckerberg to slow down as advertising sales decline. Last month, Meta said it would cut more than 11,000 jobs.
The social media company agreed to buy Inside in October 2021, a day after changing its name from Facebook to Meta.
Zuckerberg told the court that he decided to pursue the deal when Meta was in a stronger financial position and that he probably would not make the same decision in the current economic climate.
Within Evolve Supernatural, a VR app it advertises as a “full fitness service” with choreographed workouts. It’s only available on Meta’s Quest headsets, which market research firm IDC estimates account for 90% of global shipments in the VR hardware market.
Meta also controls the Meta Quest store with hundreds of apps, including top app Beat Saber, a dance game that executives consider expanding into the fitness space.
Zuckerberg testified that the Beat Saber proposal never progressed past the brainstorming stage.
The FTC is separately trying to force Meta to divest two previous acquisitions, Instagram and WhatsApp, in a lawsuit filed in 2020. Both were relatively new markets at the time the companies were purchased.