Here’s Why Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta VR Division Is Being Investigatigated By FTC

Do you know that FTC (Federal Trade Commission ) can regulate commerce by laying out fraudulent and unfair business practices. Antitrust and consumer protection laws are also enforced by the agency.

In October, Meta, formerly known as Facebook, was renamed to better line with CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s aspirations to push further into metaverse technologies. The FTC has reportedly been questioning third-party Meta VR (previously known as Oculus) developers in collaboration with several state regulators amid concerns that Meta has exploited its market position to stifle competition from other headset makers.

Companies like Valve, HTC, Windows, and Sony are among the headset manufacturers, all of whom have had far less success in the virtual reality industry than Meta. According to Bloomberg’s earlier report, FTC also investigated Meta’s Oculus unit. However, Meta did not react to this. When reached outside of business hours, the FTC too did not react promptly.

Oculus is a critical component of Meta’s plans to expand the metaverse. The term “metaverse” comes from science fiction and alludes to a future vision of the internet that people access largely through immersive technology such as virtual reality and augmented reality.

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Similar charges were allegedly probed by the US Justice Department in late 2020. Around the same time, German regulators announced a formal inquiry. In comparison to other Meta categories, VR has received minimal attention thus far. This isn’t the first time the FTC has looked into Meta’s market-shaping business tactics.

The court has ordered that the company’s effort to force Meta to sell WhatsApp and Instagram may proceed. Meta will release its fourth-quarter and full-year 2021 profits on February 2. Reality Labs, which covers virtual and augmented reality, will report independently from Meta’s app family. The business has stated that it anticipates investment in the division to cut total operating profit by $10 billion in 2021.