In an unusual turn of events, the FTC is now dropping some of its original claims from a lawsuit that seeks to block Meta’s acquisition of Supernatural, Within’s virtual reality (VR) fitness app. The agency’s decision to amend the complaint against Meta could absolutely have an impact on the outcome of the case. The result of this lawsuit could set the future trajectory of antitrust enforcement, especially because it’s regarded as the first major act to put the populist antitrust premise to the test.
In July, the FTC announced its intent to block the acquisition, alleging that Meta is a potential entrant in the virtual reality dedicated fitness app market and there’s a reasonable probability that it’ll build its own VR app to compete in the space. But instead of entering, the FTC claims Meta chose to try buying Supernatural, thus dampening future innovation and competitive rivalry.
After originally claiming that Meta and Supernatural are competitors, the FTC now claims that they are not.
Published in its entirety in Medium.