FTC didn’t stop Facebook-Instagram. How about Meta-Within?
2 years ago

FTC didn’t stop Facebook-Instagram. How about Meta-Within?

Associated Press  

SAN JOSE, California — Facebook parent Meta is sparring with government regulators in federal court over its pending acquisition of a virtual reality fitness company Within Unlimited CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify as a witness at the trial in San Jose, California. At issue is whether Meta’s acquisition of the small company that makes a VR fitness app called Supernatural will hurt competition in the emerging virtual reality market. The FTC defines it narrowly as “VR dedicated fitness apps,” while Meta’s definition includes a wider swath of competitors, many of which don’t need VR goggles to work — such as Peloton, for instance. “Meta has talked about how they want to make virtual reality as ubiquitous as your cellphone,” said Lee Hepner, legal counsel, American Economic Liberties Project, an organization that advocates for government action against business consolidation. “It’s the next platform for widespread communication in Meta’s eyes.” If the FTC can preserve and boost competition at this stage, Hepner said, there are “different paths that this market could take instead of Meta controlling the whole path, the whole forward trajectory of this market in the next several years.” The FTC’s challenge to Meta’s acquisition reflects agency chair Lina Khan’s aggressive stance on Big Tech and antitrust.

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History of this topic

Meta near deal to sell mixed-reality headsets in China
1 year, 1 month ago

Meta near deal to sell mixed-reality headsets in China

LA Times  

Meta Platforms is close to reaching a deal that will bring its mixed reality headset to China through a partnership with Tencent Holdings. Under the agreement, Tencent would manufacture a version of a headset using Meta’s hardware specifications and software, a person familiar with the conversations said, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public. The Wall Street …

Meta to signal future of AR/VR investments at annual Connect conference
1 year, 2 months ago

Meta to signal future of AR/VR investments at annual Connect conference

The Hindu  

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday is set to update investors on his plan to build the immersive metaverse that he has pitched as the future of computing at the company's first in-person conference since the start of the pandemic. Announcements at Meta Connect, Meta's biggest event of the year, will indicate how Zuckerberg plans to navigate the shift this …

FTC proposes ban on Meta profiting from minors’ data
1 year, 7 months ago

FTC proposes ban on Meta profiting from minors’ data

The Hindu  

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday accused Meta's Facebook of misleading parents about protections for children and proposed tightening an existing agreement on privacy to include a ban on making money from minors' data. Specifically, the FTC said Facebook misled parents about how much control they had over who their children had contact within the Messenger Kids app and …

Boost for Mark Zuckerberg as Facebook-owner Meta breaks year-long slump
1 year, 7 months ago

Boost for Mark Zuckerberg as Facebook-owner Meta breaks year-long slump

The Telegraph  

Shares in Facebook’s parent company Meta soared last night as it broke a losing streak to post its first rise in sales in a year. However, profits fell by 24pc and the company revealed a big drop in sales at its virtual reality division, showing that Mark Zuckerberg’s expensive bet on the metaverse is stuttering. The company’s overall revenue rise, …

Meta to buy VR startup Within after favorable court ruling
1 year, 10 months ago

Meta to buy VR startup Within after favorable court ruling

Associated Press  

A federal judge has sided with Facebook parent Meta and cleared the way for the company to buy virtual reality startup Within Unlimited, the maker of the popular fitness app Supernatural. The FTC had argued that Meta’s acquisition of the small company — reminiscent of Facebook’s early purchases of Instagram and WhatsApp — would hurt competition in the emerging virtual …

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg takes witness stand in FTC case
2 years ago

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg takes witness stand in FTC case

Associated Press  

SAN JOSE, California — Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook’s parent company Meta, took the witness stand Tuesday in a trial over U.S. antitrust regulators’ effort to stop the tech giant from buying a virtual reality startup called Within Unlimited. If the deal is allowed to go through, the Federal Trade Commission argues, it would violate antitrust laws and dampen …

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies in FTC case to block virtual-reality deal
2 years ago

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies in FTC case to block virtual-reality deal

Live Mint  

Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the witness stand Tuesday in a case in which the Federal Trade Commission is seeking to prevent the social-media company from acquiring a virtual-reality startup. The FTC is seeking an injunction blocking Meta’s planned acquisition of Within Unlimited Inc., the company behind the popular virtual-reality fitness game “Supernatural." Mr. Zuckerberg said …

Meta battles U.S. antitrust agency over future of virtual reality
2 years ago

Meta battles U.S. antitrust agency over future of virtual reality

The Hindu  

The Biden administration on Thursday accused Meta Platforms Inc of trying to buy its way to dominance in the metaverse, kicking off a high-profile trial to try to prevent the Facebook parent from buying virtual reality app developer Within Inc. The FTC sued in July to stop the deal, saying Meta's acquisition of Within would "tend to create a monopoly" …

FTC challenges Meta acquisition of VR company in court
2 years ago

FTC challenges Meta acquisition of VR company in court

Associated Press  

Federal regulators opened their campaign to block Facebook parent Meta’s acquisition of a virtual-reality company Thursday in a San Jose, California, courtroom. In a landmark legal challenge to a Big Tech merger, the Federal Trade Commission has sued to prevent Meta’s acquisition of Within Unlimited and its fitness app Supernatural, asserting it would hurt competition and violate antitrust laws. “Meta …

Meta junked its app, buying Within to cut competition in VR market: US agency
2 years, 1 month ago

Meta junked its app, buying Within to cut competition in VR market: US agency

Hindustan Times  

The US Federal Trade Commission said Meta Platforms Inc. stifled competition when it halted plans to build its own virtual reality fitness app and opted to buy Within Unlimited Inc. instead. “Meta itself had the intentions to enter - and thus was a reasonably probable entrant into - the VR Dedicated Fitness App market,” the agency said in a court …

Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse buffers as Meta shares burn
2 years, 1 month ago

Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse buffers as Meta shares burn

The Hindu  

The early 90s ushered in the Internet era which enabled people to access content remotely from the world wide web. Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse adventure is in some ways similar to the roughly three-decades old dial-up modem. Manufacturing virtual reality About a year ago, in an effort to push away the spotlight from whistle-blower Frances Haugen and her allegations …

Zuckerberg to testify in U.S. case against Facebook’s virtual reality deal
2 years, 1 month ago

Zuckerberg to testify in U.S. case against Facebook’s virtual reality deal

The Hindu  

Meta Platforms Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg will testify in a case by the Federal Trade Commission that argues the company's proposed deal to buy virtual reality content maker Within Unlimited should be blocked. In a court document filed with U.S. District Court Northern District Of California on Friday, the FTC listed 18 witnesses it plans to question, including …

Mark Zuckerberg to testify in US case against Facebook's virtual reality deal
2 years, 1 month ago

Mark Zuckerberg to testify in US case against Facebook's virtual reality deal

Hindustan Times  

Meta Platforms Inc Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg will testify in a case by the Federal Trade Commission that argues the company's proposed deal to buy virtual reality content maker Within Unlimited should be blocked. In a court document filed with U.S. District Court Northern District Of California on Friday, the FTC listed 18 witnesses it plans to question, including …

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify in US case against Facebook’s VR deal
2 years, 1 month ago

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify in US case against Facebook’s VR deal

Live Mint  

Meta Platforms Inc Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg to testify in a case by the Federal Trade Commission that argues the company's proposed deal to buy virtual reality content maker Within Unlimited should be blocked. In a court document filed with US District Court Northern District Of California on Friday, the FTC listed 18 witnesses it plans to question, including …

Facebook parent Meta’s new Quest Pro headset, mixing real and virtual worlds, makes debut
2 years, 2 months ago

Facebook parent Meta’s new Quest Pro headset, mixing real and virtual worlds, makes debut

The Hindu  

Meta Platforms unveiled its Quest Pro virtual and mixed reality headset on Tuesday, marking a milestone for Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg's break into the higher-end market for extended reality computing devices. The Quest Pro features several upgrades over Meta's existing Quest 2 headset, which overwhelmingly dominates the consumer virtual reality market. For fully immersive virtual reality, Meta has added tracking …

Facebook owner Meta unveils $1,500 VR headset: Will it sell?
2 years, 2 months ago

Facebook owner Meta unveils $1,500 VR headset: Will it sell?

Associated Press  

Facebook parent Meta unveiled a high-end virtual reality headset Tuesday with the hope that people will soon be using it to work and play in the still-elusive place called the “metaverse.” The $1,500 Meta Quest Pro headset sports high-resolution sensors that let people see mixed virtual and augmented reality in full color, as well as eye tracking and so-called “natural …

Zuckerberg sets for 'Meta Connect' amid quality issues with VR project
2 years, 2 months ago

Zuckerberg sets for 'Meta Connect' amid quality issues with VR project

India TV News  

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is set to announce the company's progress towards building the $10 billion metaverse, as internal reports claim there are still several quality issues and those building the virtual reality social network at the company are barely using it. Zuckerberg will share updates on the VR developer ecosystem, the progress building toward the metaverse, and 'Project Cambria', …

FTC files slimmed-down complaint in fight with Meta over Within acquisition
2 years, 2 months ago

FTC files slimmed-down complaint in fight with Meta over Within acquisition

The Hindu  

Antitrust enforcers who have asked a federal judge to stop Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc from buying virtual reality content maker Within filed a shorter version of their complaint on Friday. The Federal Trade Commission had filed a lawsuit in July saying that Meta's acquisition of Within Unlimited Inc would "tend to create a monopoly" in the market for virtual …

Meta Platforms agrees to delay closing Within deal given U.S. challenge
2 years, 4 months ago

Meta Platforms agrees to delay closing Within deal given U.S. challenge

The Hindu  

Meta Platforms, the parent of Facebook which is making a big play for virtual reality, has agreed to delay closing its deal for Within Unlimited, maker of the popular fitness app "Supernatural," according to a court filing. The Federal Trade Commission had filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the deal in July, and had asked a judge in federal court …

FTC acts to block Meta from buying VR company, fitness app
2 years, 4 months ago

FTC acts to block Meta from buying VR company, fitness app

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators on Wednesday took legal action to block Facebook parent Meta and CEO Mark Zuckerberg from acquiring virtual reality company Within Unlimited and its fitness app Supernatural, asserting the deal would hurt competition and violate antitrust laws. The regulators said that Meta already is a key player “at each level of the virtual reality sector,” owning the …

Meta VR headset users will not require Facebook account to log in
2 years, 5 months ago

Meta VR headset users will not require Facebook account to log in

The Hindu  

Meta said its virtual reality headset users do not need a Facebook account to log into their headsets, which was a concern among several users. Some VR users will have to create a Meta account sooner than others, but they must be 13 or older to set it up. People new to Facebook’s VR devices or who have previously merged …

Meta announces new way to login to its Oculus VR system
2 years, 5 months ago

Meta announces new way to login to its Oculus VR system

Live Mint  

Meta Platforms Inc is modifying how users log onto its virtual reality headsets, backtracking on an earlier change to require accounts from the company's flagship Facebook app on the devices while preserving links to social connections there. The social media giant announced plans to remove the Facebook login requirement last year, after a backlash from users who had previously accessed …

Meta rolls out more parental controls for Instagram and virtual reality
2 years, 6 months ago

Meta rolls out more parental controls for Instagram and virtual reality

NPR  

Meta rolls out more parental controls for Instagram and virtual reality Enlarge this image toggle caption Noah Berger/AFP via Getty Images Noah Berger/AFP via Getty Images Facebook parent company Meta is rolling out additional parental supervision measures for Instagram and its virtual reality headset, expanding on a suite of tools released in the U.S. in recent months. Business Facebook parent …

Amazon’s head of hardware wants to ‘enjoy the real world’ rather than put people in the metaverse
2 years, 7 months ago

Amazon’s head of hardware wants to ‘enjoy the real world’ rather than put people in the metaverse

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Amazon’s head of devices has said that the company is working on devices …

Facebook’s parent company Meta tells hardware staffers to prepare for cutbacks
2 years, 7 months ago

Facebook’s parent company Meta tells hardware staffers to prepare for cutbacks

The Hindu  

Facebook-owner Meta Platforms Inc is preparing cutbacks in its Reality Labs division, a unit at the centre of the company's strategy to refocus on hardware products and the "metaverse," a spokesperson confirmed to Reuters on Wednesday. The world's biggest social media company last month told investors that it would scale back costs in 2022, following a drop in Facebook users …

Meta to open its first physical retail store in the U.S.
2 years, 7 months ago

Meta to open its first physical retail store in the U.S.

The Hindu  

Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. said it will open its first physical retail store next month for people to experience its hardware products Quest 2, Ray-Ban Stories, and Portal. The 1,550 square feet store will open on May 9 near the company’s Reality Labs headquarters, where virtual reality, and augmented reality gadgets are under development. The physical store will give …

Apple Calls Out Meta's Hypocrisy Over 47.5 Percent Commission On VR Purchases
2 years, 8 months ago

Apple Calls Out Meta's Hypocrisy Over 47.5 Percent Commission On VR Purchases

News 18  

Tech giant Apple has criticised Meta over the “metaverse" company’s plans to charge developers up to 47.5 per cent for virtual goods sold through the Meta Quest store. On Monday, Meta announced it would take an additional 17.5 per cent cut from goods sold in “Horizon Worlds" after taking a 30 per cent platform fee for being on the Meta …

Meta’s Oculus Quest 2 leads global AR, VR market: IDC
2 years, 8 months ago

Meta’s Oculus Quest 2 leads global AR, VR market: IDC

The Hindu  

Global augmented reality and virtual reality headset market grew significantly last year led by all-in-one VR solutions like Meta’s Oculus Quest 2. Worldwide AR/VR headset shipments expanded 92.1% to 11.2 million units in 2021, compared to the previous year, with Meta’s Quest 2, capturing 78% share of the combined AR/VR market during the year, according to a report by research …

Meta tells advertisers mixed reality could be a few years away
2 years, 10 months ago

Meta tells advertisers mixed reality could be a few years away

The Hindu  

Technology that merges the virtual and physical worlds could start to become a reality for consumers in a few years, Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc has told advertising agencies, giving more details of its vision for the creation of the metaverse. Mixed reality technology could allow a person wearing an MR headset to use a real world object to trigger …

Meta, formerly Facebook, faces historic drop as stock tanks
2 years, 10 months ago

Meta, formerly Facebook, faces historic drop as stock tanks

Associated Press  

Meta is putting a lot of virtual eggs — and billions of dollars — into the metaverse basket, and Wall Street is pretty anxious about it. At the same time, it invested more than $10 billion in CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s ambitious plan to transform Meta Platforms Inc. into a virtual reality — actually, make that “metaverse-based” — company. “Betting big …

Meta, formerly Facebook, faces historic drop as stock tanks
2 years, 10 months ago

Meta, formerly Facebook, faces historic drop as stock tanks

Hindustan Times  

Shares in Facebook parent company Meta are in the midst of their worst day ever Thursday after the social media giant reported a rare decline in profit due to a sharp increase in expenses as it invests heavily in its transformation into a virtual reality-based company. In addition, recent privacy changes by Apple make it harder for companies like Meta …

VR Headsets, Crypto Gifts, Dementors: A Look at a TN Couple’s Metaverse Wedding
2 years, 11 months ago

VR Headsets, Crypto Gifts, Dementors: A Look at a TN Couple’s Metaverse Wedding

The Quint  

The metaverse is an immersive cyberspace experience; WIRED defines it as “a persistent virtual world that exists even when you’re not logged in.” It is built using VR and Augmented Reality. It will encompass our entire current digital spectrum of usage, add our social media handles, mobile apps, online video games, and create a digital economy to operate it. Samsung …

Expect in 2022: Mark Zuckerberg launching new VR headset and talking big on Meta, VR headset from Apple, Google
2 years, 11 months ago

Expect in 2022: Mark Zuckerberg launching new VR headset and talking big on Meta, VR headset from Apple, Google

India Today  

In our top predictions for 2022, we had mentioned how we expect the metaverse concept to blow up this year. And since we are talking about names, no company has embraced the metaverse concept as dearly as Meta, formerly known as Facebook. Now that the concepts of the metaverse and virtual reality and augmented reality have become the buzzwords, it …

Meta officially launches its Horizon Worlds metaverse app
3 years ago

Meta officially launches its Horizon Worlds metaverse app

Daily Mail  

It has been two years in the making, but Meta has official launched its Horizon Worlds metaverse app to the public. Horizon Worlds is far from a fully realized metaverse that CEO Mark Zuckerberg envisions, which a future internet where online experiences like chatting to a friend would eventually feel face-to-face interactions. Scroll down for videos It has been two …

It’s not quite the metaverse, but Meta is launching its virtual world
3 years ago

It’s not quite the metaverse, but Meta is launching its virtual world

CNN  

CNN Business — Meta is bringing its vision of a so-called metaverse closer to reality. Facebook's new social app for VR, Horizon Worlds, encourages users to hang out together and create new virtual worlds. Meta The Horizon Worlds launch also comes as Meta doubles down on its VR efforts as part of a long-term bet on the metaverse. Meta said …

Facebook At Risk Of Missing The Point Of Metaverse: Report
3 years ago

Facebook At Risk Of Missing The Point Of Metaverse: Report

ABP News  

New Delhi: Social networking giant Facebook, which adopted a new moniker Meta in late October, based on sci-fi term metaverse, is at the risk of missing the point of metaverse if it is not able to permit digital ownership, a new report says. According to a report by news agency Reuters, metaverse participants do not think the social media giant …

Nike Gets Serious About Metaverse, Builds Virtual World Nikeland With Roblox
3 years, 1 month ago

Nike Gets Serious About Metaverse, Builds Virtual World Nikeland With Roblox

ABP News  

New Delhi: Sportswear giant Nike is also ambitious about metaverse as it has collaborated with Roblox to create Nikeland, a virtual world, as the battle in this space heats up. Nikeland virtual worlds will be free for now, according to reports. The metaverse is a shared virtual space where the real and virtual worlds merge into one. Meanwhile, earlier this …

Metaverse could be an existential threat to Facebook, warns Meta
3 years, 1 month ago

Metaverse could be an existential threat to Facebook, warns Meta

India Today  

Meta chief technology officer and former Facebook employee Andrew Bosworth in an internal memo had noted that virtual reality can be a toxic environment, especially for women and minorities. The memo, which dates back to March noted that Metaverse would be an existential threat to Facebook if it turned off mainstream customers from the medium entirely. Bosworth later posted a …

EXPLAINED: What is Metaverse and Why Facebook/ Meta Thinks it's the Future of Internet
3 years, 1 month ago

EXPLAINED: What is Metaverse and Why Facebook/ Meta Thinks it's the Future of Internet

News 18  

The term “metaverse” is the latest buzzword to capture the tech industry’s imagination — so much so that one of the best-known internet platforms is rebranding to signal its embrace of the futuristic idea. In an interview with The Verge, Zuckerberg said that “the metaverse isn’t just virtual reality” and would be accessible across various computing platforms like virtual and …

Facebook to Meta: The Metaverse contours go beyond just rebranding
3 years, 1 month ago

Facebook to Meta: The Metaverse contours go beyond just rebranding

Hindustan Times  

Facebook will now be known as Meta as it is betting big on the metaverse project that it sees as the future of the internet. Watch: Why Facebook changed name to Meta amid multiple controversies There is the potential for immersive social virtual shopping experiences, concerts, gaming, and virtual classrooms taking a huge step forward. And we’re working with game …

Facebook changes name to Meta to highlight virtual reality shift
3 years, 1 month ago

Facebook changes name to Meta to highlight virtual reality shift

Al Jazeera  

Facebook is changing its name to Meta – a move that decouples its corporate identity from its social network, which has been under increasing fire. Facebook Inc. is re-christening itself Meta, decoupling its corporate identity from the eponymous social network mired in toxic content, and highlighting a shift to an emerging computing platform focused on virtual reality. “The metaverse is …

Explainer: What is the metaverse and how will it work?
3 years, 1 month ago

Explainer: What is the metaverse and how will it work?

LA Times  

Hadrien Gurnel, a software engineer with EPFL’s Laboratory for Experimental Museology explores with a virtual reality helmet the most detailed 3D map of the universe with the virtual reality software VIRUP, Virtual Reality Universe Project developed by Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, in St-Sulpice near Lausanne, Switzerland. The term “metaverse” is the latest buzzword to capture the tech industry’s imagination …

What is metaverse? Why Facebook is investing billions in this new project
3 years, 1 month ago

What is metaverse? Why Facebook is investing billions in this new project

Live Mint  

Facebook Inc said on Monday it will start publishing the financial results of its augmented and virtual reality labs as a separate unit, where it is investing billions in its ambitions to build the "metaverse" and as it reported that its main advertising business faces "significant uncertainty." Some people also use the word metaverse to describe gaming worlds, in which …

Facebook invests billions in metaverse efforts as ad business slows
3 years, 1 month ago

Facebook invests billions in metaverse efforts as ad business slows

India Today  

Facebook said on Monday it will start breaking out the financials for its virtual and augmented reality unit, an announcement that comes as its main advertising businesses face "significant uncertainty." Facebook warned that Apple Inc's new privacy rules would weigh on its digital business in the current quarter, after the social media company reported quarterly revenue below market expectations. Chief …

What is Metaverse - Facebook's big bet, and next big thing after internet?
3 years, 2 months ago

What is Metaverse - Facebook's big bet, and next big thing after internet?

Business Standard  

If media reports are to be believed, Facebook is planning to rebrand itself with a new name next week to reflect its focus on building the metaverse. Facebook already has 10,000 employees in its Reality Labs division working on Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality devices and it has invested heavily in VR and AR with a goal to connect its …

Facebook Plans To Hire 10,000 People In Europe To Build Its ‘Metaverse’
3 years, 2 months ago

Facebook Plans To Hire 10,000 People In Europe To Build Its ‘Metaverse’

ABP News  

New Delhi: Facebook has said it plans to hire 10,000 people in the European Union to build the "metaverse", a new computing platform that aims to connect people virtually. The hiring will be done over the next five years, Metaverse is a virtual reality version of the internet which Facebook visualises as the future. In a blog post, Facebook said …

The next big internet revolution: what is the metaverse?
3 years, 4 months ago

The next big internet revolution: what is the metaverse?

Live Mint  

Imagine a world where you could sit on the same couch as a friend who lives thousands of miles away, or conjure up a virtual version of your workplace while at the beach. The metaverse is, in fact, the stuff of science-fiction: the term was coined by Neal Stephenson in his 1992 novel "Snow Crash", in which people don virtual …

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