00:00Welcome back to Decentralized News. So FTC is said to have sued Meta to stop Facebook parent from owning the entire Metaverse.
00:12Very interesting headline, of course. Let me know what your thoughts are when we are through with this video.
00:18And don't forget to like and subscribe to the channel as well.
00:22So it is said that Meta's planned acquisition of a VR fitness app, sort of this VR fitness app maker that Meta has been trying to acquire is now facing scrutiny as the FTC points to the fact that Facebook's parent company is, you know, growing significantly and trying to monopolize the Metaverse space.
00:50So the FTC filed a suit to block Meta's purchase of VR fitness app maker within beyond competition in the VR fitness space.
01:02The agency is also concerned about Meta's plans for building the Metaverse.
01:08So Meta's plan to purchase the VR app maker within might be scuttled as the United States Federal Trade Commission today actually sued the company and, you know, trying to hold the acquisition.
01:24So the parent company of Facebook and Instagram is also the biggest player in the VR space.
01:29And Meta, as the name implies, is sort of trying to push hard towards the future of the Metaverse, obviously, seeing as they did even rebrand the whole company.
01:41So, in fact, the FTC or the Federal Trade Commission is believing that Meta's planned acquisition of within would be another move towards controlling the Metaverse entirely.
01:54Meta would be one step closer to its ultimate goal of owning the entire Metaverse, according to the filing.
02:02So the FTC filed this suit against Meta platforms in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California to block the company's announced purchase of Within,
02:14which is the VR game developer behind the popular fitness app Supernatural.
02:19So Meta also makes the Quest 2 headset, formerly the Oculus Quest 2, and revealed the plan to purchase last October in a deal that the information pegged at more than $400 million.
02:34And the firm said that it pushed the closing date of the deal to August 1 to accommodate the FTC.
02:42In an announcement, the agency alleged that Meta is attempting to stifle VR fitness competition from independent studios by purchasing the studio behind the leading app in the space rather than developing its own rival program.
02:58The commission voted 3 to 2 in favor of filing suit to block the deal.
03:04So acquisition would dampen future innovation and competitive rivalry, according to the agency, therefore violating antitrust laws.
03:15The FTC also noted that Meta already owns BitGames, which is a maker of the popular VR game BitSaber.
03:23And this is used by some fitness or is a fitness app and is similarly alleged that owning both studios would impact competitive innovation.
03:34And the FTC filing expands beyond the VR focus into a wider realm of the Metaverse as well, which Meta is trying to build towards so much that it changed obviously its full name to Meta.
03:46The Metaverse is seen as a future evolution of the internet where users will interact across overlapping 3D spaces using avatars.
03:57Meta is pushing hard in the space, although it's unclear whether the firm will use Web3 technology like LFTs and cryptocurrency as a builder in the space.
04:06And also considering that obviously they did abandon their crypto project as well, Novi Wallet and the DM.
04:17So prominent builders in this space have also warned of Meta's plans to develop what they believe will be a centralized walled garden rather than an interoperable Metaverse that spins sort of across numerous platforms.
04:29Yat Sui, founder of an executive chairman of Metaverse investor, Animoca Brands, also labeled the firm a threat to an open Metaverse in another interview.
04:41So, you know, Meta rejected the commission's claims and suggested that the acquisition would inject new investment into the VR fitness space.
04:50Plus, it denied that Supernatural and BitSaber are similar experiences.
04:54The firm did not specifically comment on the FTC's accusation regarding its plans for the Metaverse.
05:01Let me know what you guys think about this whole Meta saga and plans of blocking them.
05:06Of course, they tried to launch their own crypto.
05:08There was pushback there.
05:10Now they're trying to go hard in acquiring all these Metaverse firms that are, you know, technology firms that will be key to the industry and facing some resistance there from regulators as well.
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