Oculus' Move To Make Facebook Accounts Mandatory For Users Of Its VR Headsets Sparks Social Media Outrage

Virtual reality headset maker Oculus announced Tuesday that a user account with parent company Facebook Inc's FB namesake social media platform would be necessary to log into its devices beginning October 2020.

What Happened

The Mark Zuckerberg-led company’s VR headset division said that anyone using an Oculus device for the first time will need to log in with a Facebook account.

Existing users who have an Oculus account can merge their user accounts with Facebook accounts within two years, the company said in a statement.

Support for Oculus accounts will end on January 1, 2023, after which some games and apps may no longer function, the company said. 

“Using a VR profile that is backed by a Facebook account and authentic identity helps us protect our community and makes it possible to offer additional integrity tools,” Oculus said on its blog.

Why It Matters

Palmer Luckey, the founder of Oculus had promised at the time of the company’s acquisition that its users would not be forced to use Facebook accounts on Reddit.

The company’s announcement of the move led to an outburst on Twitter.

“Facebook will never explicitly admit it, but it’s likely made the calculation that user data is more valuable and profitable than selling niche gadgets,” wrote Gizmodo Journalist Victoria Song.

Zuckerberg was questioned on purchasing competing services at the House Antitrust hearing held in July, especially the company’s $1 billion purchase of Instagram in 2012 and the $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp in 2014.

Price Action 

Facebook shares closed 0.45% higher at $262.34 on Tuesday.