The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reportedly petitioned a judge Tuesday to suspend Meta’s acquisition of virtual reality app developer Within Unlimited until the two sides wait for a court ruling.
The FTC sued Meta last July to halt its acquisition of Within and asked the court for a temporary injunction on the grounds that Meta had been planning a “VR conquest campaign” since it acquired Oculus in 2014. The case went to trial in December of last year.
The FTC wants the court to order Meta not to close the Within deal until 11:59 p.m. on the first business day after a judge rules on whether the deal can move forward. Alternatively, the judge could extend the existing temporary injunction for seven days.
The current temporary injunction expires at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time on Tuesday.
Although the deal is small, it is a test for the FTC. The reason is that Meta has been known to secure dominant positions by acquiring up-and-coming competitors before, and the FTC believes Meta will do the same in the VR and AR markets this time around.
