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Mark Zuckerberg takes witness stand in FTC case over market domination
https://www.whatjobs.com/news/usa/us-business-news/mark-zuckerberg-takes-witness-stand-in-ftc-case-over-market-domination
By Nithya Bose in US business news, posted December 21, 2022
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in a case by US antitrust regulators charging the tech giant with illegal market monopoly.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued the company in July, to block its acquisition of the virtual reality startup company Within Unlimited.
Zuckerberg defended the deal in San Jose, California court, claiming Meta was trying to develop a burgeoning virtual reality sector and not dominate it.
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The billionaire said owning app maker Within was "not that critical" to Meta's goals.
He added that his primary aim was to develop communication tools and a platform for apps from other developers.
He continued by saying about fitness apps "it's less important that we own the experiences than that they exist."
Zuckerberg stated he'd like to see other companies build key productivity and gaming apps to attract a large audience to virtual and augmented reality.
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FTC's lawyers asked Zuckerberg about an internal email he sent in 2015 where he mentioned his expectations for Meta to develop "most of the apps and software services" for the virtual reality market.
Zuckerberg said that major platform owners tend to develop the most popular apps in their field, comparing Meta's priority for communications to Microsoft's focus on productivity.
He added platform owners have developed "the key apps, what they call the killer apps, but they're not the only apps available."
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FTC has also sought that the judge issue a preliminary injunction claiming Meta's "campaign to conquer VR" began in 2014 when it bought Oculus, a virtual reality headset maker.
Meta is currently facing several legal battles against regulators globally over its purported market domination.
The European Commission said that it had issued a warning to Meta about a potential antitrust violation, involving online classified advertising.
The company said it doesn’t plan to finalize the Within transaction until January 31, or until the day after the court rules on the FTC's request for a preliminary injunction.
Source: Reuters
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