{"id":11220,"date":"2022-07-29T15:12:35","date_gmt":"2022-07-29T15:12:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/07\/29\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta\/"},"modified":"2022-07-29T15:12:36","modified_gmt":"2022-07-29T15:12:36","slug":"ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/07\/29\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta\/","title":{"rendered":"FTC staff reportedly recommended against suing Meta"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2022\/7\/29\/23283641\/lina-khan-ftc-meta-within-supernatural-lawsuit-overruled-staff-report<\/a>
\n
<\/br><\/code><\/p>\n

\n

Federal Trade Commission head Lina Khan overruled staff advice to intervene in a Meta virtual reality studio acquisition, Bloomberg<\/em> reports<\/a>. Sources reportedly told Bloomberg<\/em> that staff had been \u201crecommending against\u201d suing to block Meta\u2019s acquisition of Within, which makes the popular VR fitness app Supernatural.<\/em> The FTC voted 3 to 2 in favor<\/a> of the suit earlier this week, splitting respectively along Democratic and Republican party lines.<\/p>\n

Bloomberg\u2019s<\/em> article doesn\u2019t detail the substance of the disagreement over Meta\u2019s Supernatural <\/em>acquisition, although it does note that \u201ceach of the commissioners had the opportunity to test out Meta\u2019s Oculus product, Within\u2019s Supernatural, and Meta\u2019s Beat Saber<\/em>.\u201d But the report would emphasize that Khan is making an unusually aggressive push to limit the power of companies like Meta, particularly compared to earlier interventions against major tech players. In 2013, for instance, the FTC overruled input from staff<\/a> who recommended bringing an antitrust suit against Google, ending the investigation despite concerns about its business practices.<\/p>\n

The FTC\u2019s latest suit targets the specific category of VR fitness apps. But a key claim is that buying Within has a larger purpose for Meta: \u201cbuilding, and ultimately controlling, a VR \u2018metaverse.\u2019\u201d It asserts that by buying the fitness studio, Meta is removing competition that could spur it to keep improving its own software offerings, including the fitness-adjacent rhythm game Beat Saber. \u201c<\/em>As early as 2015, Mr. Zuckerberg instructed key Facebook executives that his vision for \u2018the next wave of computing\u2019 was control of apps and the platform on which those apps were distributed,\u201d it says. \u201cA key part of this strategy was for his company to be \u2018completely ubiquitous in killer apps.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Meta, by contrast, claims the suit is \u201cbased on ideology and speculation, not evidence.\u201d In an informal response to the suit<\/a>, it says the suit \u201cmisunderstands the nature of the space entirely and ignores the market realities,\u201d positioning Beat Saber <\/em>and Supernatural as more similar than they are. \u201cThe FTC has no answer to the most basic question,\u201d writes Meta associate general counsel Nikhil Shanbhag. \u201cHow could Meta\u2019s acquisition of a single fitness app in a dynamic space with many existing and future players possibly harm competition?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


<\/br><\/code><\/p>\n

Source: https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2022\/7\/29\/23283641\/lina-khan-ftc-meta-within-supernatural-lawsuit-overruled-staff-report<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source: Federal Trade Commission head Lina Khan overruled staff advice to intervene in a Meta virtual reality studio acquisition, Bloomberg reports. Sources reportedly told Bloomberg that staff had been \u201crecommending against\u201d suing to block Meta\u2019s acquisition of Within, which makes the popular VR fitness app Supernatural. The FTC voted 3 to 2 in favor of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,8],"tags":[16],"class_list":["post-11220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-policy","category-technology","tag-policy"],"yoast_head":"\nFTC staff reportedly recommended against suing Meta - Science and Nerds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/07\/29\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"FTC staff reportedly recommended against suing Meta - Science and Nerds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Source: Federal Trade Commission head Lina Khan overruled staff advice to intervene in a Meta virtual reality studio acquisition, Bloomberg reports. Sources reportedly told Bloomberg that staff had been \u201crecommending against\u201d suing to block Meta\u2019s acquisition of Within, which makes the popular VR fitness app Supernatural. The FTC voted 3 to 2 in favor of […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/07\/29\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Science and Nerds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-29T15:12:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-07-29T15:12:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta_62e3f8e34bee8.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/07\/29\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/07\/29\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta\/\",\"name\":\"FTC staff reportedly recommended against suing Meta - Science and Nerds\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/07\/29\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/07\/29\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta_62e3f8e34bee8.jpeg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-29T15:12:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-29T15:12:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ea2991abeb2b9ab04b32790dff28360e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/07\/29\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/07\/29\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/07\/29\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta_62e3f8e34bee8.jpeg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta_62e3f8e34bee8.jpeg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":628},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/07\/29\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"FTC staff reportedly recommended against suing Meta\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/\",\"name\":\"Science and Nerds\",\"description\":\"My WordPress Blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ea2991abeb2b9ab04b32790dff28360e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e6e14fc6691445ef2b2c0a3a6c43882?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e6e14fc6691445ef2b2c0a3a6c43882?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"FTC staff reportedly recommended against suing Meta - Science and Nerds","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/07\/29\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"FTC staff reportedly recommended against suing Meta - Science and Nerds","og_description":"Source: Federal Trade Commission head Lina Khan overruled staff advice to intervene in a Meta virtual reality studio acquisition, Bloomberg reports. Sources reportedly told Bloomberg that staff had been \u201crecommending against\u201d suing to block Meta\u2019s acquisition of Within, which makes the popular VR fitness app Supernatural. The FTC voted 3 to 2 in favor of […]","og_url":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/07\/29\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta\/","og_site_name":"Science and Nerds","article_published_time":"2022-07-29T15:12:35+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-07-29T15:12:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta_62e3f8e34bee8.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/07\/29\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta\/","url":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/07\/29\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta\/","name":"FTC staff reportedly recommended against suing Meta - Science and Nerds","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/07\/29\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/07\/29\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta_62e3f8e34bee8.jpeg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1","datePublished":"2022-07-29T15:12:35+00:00","dateModified":"2022-07-29T15:12:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ea2991abeb2b9ab04b32790dff28360e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/07\/29\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/07\/29\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/07\/29\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta_62e3f8e34bee8.jpeg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta_62e3f8e34bee8.jpeg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1","width":1200,"height":628},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/07\/29\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"FTC staff reportedly recommended against suing Meta"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/","name":"Science and Nerds","description":"My WordPress Blog","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ea2991abeb2b9ab04b32790dff28360e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e6e14fc6691445ef2b2c0a3a6c43882?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e6e14fc6691445ef2b2c0a3a6c43882?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com"],"url":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/ftc-staff-reportedly-recommended-against-suing-meta_62e3f8e34bee8.jpeg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11220"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11220\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11222,"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11220\/revisions\/11222"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}