Mark Zuckerberg Dropped From FTC Lawsuit After Reaching Agreement On VR Startup

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which sought to prevent Meta Platforms Inc META CEO Mark Zuckerberg from purchasing a virtual reality startup through legal action, is reportedly dropping the executive from its lawsuit. 

What Happened: Zuckerberg will be dropped from the antitrust lawsuit after he agreed not to purchase Within Unlimited Inc, the VR startup, and its fitness application dubbed “Supernatural,” reported the Wall Street Journal.

Meta had reportedly asked the FTC to remove Zuckerberg from the lawsuit, according to the report from the Journal.

Benzinga has reached out to the FTC and Meta for comment on the development but is yet to get a response as of press time.

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Why It Matters:  Meta had rebranded itself to show its focus on the so-called metaverse, a virtual-reality realm, the Journal noted.

Last month, the FTC sued Facebook and Instagram-parent Meta over its acquisition of virtual reality content maker Within Unlimited. The federal agency said that the acquisition would “tend to create a monopoly” in the virtual reality-dedicated fitness apps market.

Facebook had agreed to purchase the startup in October last year for an undisclosed amount of money.

In 2021, the FTC accused Meta of violating antitrust rules by acquiring Instagram and the mobile-messaging app WhatsApp.

Price Action: Meta shares closed 1.2% lower at $161.11 in the regular session on Tuesday and fell 0.2% in extended trading, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

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