On Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a lawsuit seeking to block Meta’s acquisition of virtual reality fitness company Within. The case relies on an extremely narrow market definition of “VR Dedicated Fitness Apps” that overlooks the reality of competition between platforms. The lawsuit ignores that VR competes against other platforms, including Xbox and Playstation, while fitness projects necessarily compete with a range of services, including Peloton, gym memberships, and other fitness programs.

“This lawsuit is a legal longshot, but the agency is more focused on getting headlines than results,” said Chamber of Progress CEO Adam Kovacevich. “Federal courts have slapped the FTC once already for bringing an ill-conceived case against Meta, and I expect the same will happen again here. Meta isn’t any closer than pickleball or synchronized swimming are to locking up the fitness market.”

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Chamber of Progress (progresschamber.org) is a center-left tech industry policy coalition promoting technology’s progressive future.  We work to ensure that all Americans benefit from technological leaps, and that the tech industry operates responsibly and fairly.  

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