Meta

The European Commission on Monday said it has warned Facebook parent company Meta that it is breaching EU antitrust laws by distorting competition in ...

The Commission said on Monday that it was concerned that Meta is imposing "unfair trading conditions" on competitors of its own classified ads service, Facebook Marketplace, that want to advertise on its social networks Facebook or Instagram. It said it was concerned the terms and conditions - which authorise Meta to use ads-related data derived from competitors for the benefit of Facebook Marketplace - are unjustified, disproportionate and not necessary for the provision of online display advertising services on Meta's platforms. The Commission said that besides tying its online classified ads service to its social network, Meta was also abusing its dominant position by unilaterally imposing unfair trading conditions on competing online classified ads services which advertise on Facebook or Instagram.

The European Commission has escalated a probe into Meta Platforms' classified ads service, sending antitrust charges over the tying of its marketplace ...

The company can be fined up to 10 percent of its global turnover. [fine](http://ec.europa.eu/competition/elojade/isef/case_details.cfm?proc_code=2_M_8228) five years ago for failing to supply correct information during the EU's merger review of the WhatsApp takeover. "Our preliminary concern is that Meta ties its dominant social network Facebook to its online classified ad services called Facebook Marketplace," said European Union's competition chief Margrethe Vestager. The U.S. The Commission opened an The company got a €110 million EU

The European Commission (EC) has confirmed that it's proceeding with an antitrust investigation into Facebook's parent company Meta Platforms Inc. (Meta), ...

In an internal memo, a top exec says a "perfect storm of skepticism" won't deter Mark Zuckerberg's metaverse plans.

But ultimately, avatars are just a small fraction of how Meta is spending its $10 billion annual budget on the futuristic technologies that make up its “Reality Labs” division. Outside the VR world, many social media commenters have criticized the look of Meta’s virtual avatars in its AR/VR products — a screenshot of Mark Zuckerberg’s [ avatar was widely mocked](https://www.businessinsider.com/memes-mark-zuckerberg-metaverse-meta-struck-a-nerve-2022-10) on Twitter and other platforms for being legless and cartoonish (in response, the tech CEO [demoed an updated avatar](https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/mark-zuckerberg-updates-metaverse-avatar-after-internet-mockery-3295055) a week later). [the App Tracking Transparency tool](https://www.vox.com/recode/23045136/apple-app-tracking-transparency-privacy-ads) to iPhones that limited Meta’s ability to target ads — the company predicted it would [lose $10 billion because](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/02/facebook-says-apple-ios-privacy-change-will-cost-10-billion-this-year.html) of those changes in 2022 alone. “And that is what we’re trying to do.” He said his teams are working on improvements to the technical systems that power avatars to make them more “robust.” This year, [Facebook also reported its first ever decline](https://www.vox.com/recode/2022/2/2/22915110/facebook-meta-user-growth-decline-first-time-metaverse-mark-zuckerberg-tiktok-competition-earnings) in global users in the final quarter of 2021 as it faces increasing competition from TikTok. And if you ask the average person, isn’t it reasonable for a company to invest some percentage, maybe even 20 percent, in its future?” One recently called Meta’s [continued spending on it “terrifying”](https://www.insider.com/meta-metaverse-mark-zuckerberg-ceo-open-letter-investor-facebook-backlash-2022-10) in a recent open letter urging the company to cut back. He made it clear that the company will double down on its plans to build out new AR/VR technologies including ones that power the metaverse, which is a series of immersive 3D virtual worlds where people can socialize, work, and play using digital avatars of themselves. He’s also put out several iterations of AR/VR headsets before Apple has even launched a single product in this space, giving Meta a head start in development. But even in the best case scenario for Zuckerberg, it will take time to achieve that vision — by his estimates, “This post is my attempt to set the record straight,” said Bosworth in an interview with Recode last week, speaking to critics who think Meta is spending too much on new technology that hasn’t yet caught on at the same scale as social media.

The European Union is investigating Facebook-parent Meta for possible antitrust violations stemming from the tight link between its core social media ...

Meta didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The company now has an opportunity to respond to the investigation. The European Union has outlined the concerns to Meta in writing, the European Commission said Monday in a

Presumably, antitrust regulators are nowhere to be found in Mark Zuckerberg's metaverse, but until that transition is complete, he'll just have...

"The practice is exclusionary, which is a violation of antitrust law, but only if you are a dominant company," Prof. Facebook marketplace launched in 2016 and is largely analogous to websites like Craigslist where people sell off unwanted items they want out of their homes. The EU said Monday it believes Facebook Marketplace, Meta's classified ads service, violates antitrust laws.

Before Meta Platforms released its Ray-Ban camera-equipped glasses last September, the team spent months trying to get them to work with Apple's iPhone.

If Meta were to rely on an Apple-made device as an accessory for a future AR product, it could run into problems, as the Ray-Bans episode shows. The episode demonstrates the challenge for Meta as it vies to lead the burgeoning market for augmented reality and virtual reality. Meta wanted photos taken on the glasses to automatically download to users’ phones without requiring them to open Meta’s app.

CTO Andrew Bosworth said about 20% of the company's overall costs and expenses would be spent on the Reality Labs segment of its business next year.

In a [memo](https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0iPixEvPJQGzNa6t2x6HUL5TYqfmKGqSgfkBg6QaTyHF5frXQi7eLGxC7uPQv5U5jl&id=100006735798590), Carmack said he supported the company’s hardware but said the teams working on that hardware, “constantly self-sabotage[s] and squander[s] effort.” Bosworth hinted at growing competition in coming years, all but naming Apple and its [long-rumored](https://gizmodo.com/apple-ar-vr-headset-2000-price-release-date-limited-whe-1849384960) headset. A historic tech downturn grabbed hold of Meta and left it with [11,000 fewer employees](https://gizmodo.com/facebook-meta-mark-zuckerberg-laying-off-11000-workers-1849761475) and a stock price [down](https://www.financialexpress.com/investing-abroad/featured-stories/meta-stock-value-plunges-65-in-2022-the-biggest-drop-among-the-big-five-tech-giants/2919629/) a whopping 65%. Meta reportedly [burned](https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/25/22745381/facebook-reality-labs-10-billion-metaverse) over $10 billion dollars into its metaverse vision during that time with little to show for it save avatars with [legs that barely work](https://gizmodo.com/meta-connect-avatars-virtual-reality-legs-zuckerberg-1849644135) and a $1,500 headset [with no real use case](https://gizmodo.com/meta-quest-pro-vr-headset-track-eyes-ads-facebook-1849654424). [The Meta Quest Pro](https://gizmodo.com/meta-quest-pro-headset-ar-vr-metaverse-connect-1849643669), that put a piece of advanced hardware in the hands of developers. That single division, which is responsible for Meta’s VR headsets and future facing metaverse platforms, reported $9.44 billion in losses this year [according to](https://www.insiderintelligence.com/content/meta-lost-over-9-billion) Insider Intelligence.

As shown in the company's quarter 3 (Q3) results, about 80 per cent of Meta's total investments support the core business and the remaining 20 per cent goes to Reality Labs, Andrew Bosworth, Meta's chief technology officer and head of Reality Labs, ...

[Subscribe](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/subscription?newslettertype=div_3125&email=2&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DailyTop5)to our daily newsletter for the latest and must-read tech news, delivered straight to your inbox. [Meta](/topic/meta)is directing "about half" of its [Reality Labs](/topic/reality-labs)' operating expenses toward [augmented reality](/topic/augmented-reality)( [AR](/topic/ar)) and is committed to its vision for the future. [Mixed reality](/topic/mixed-reality)(MR) is a key part of the journey toward full AR devices, and eye and face tracking is an essential piece of the technology stack needed for AR and virtual reality (VR) devices to reach their full potential."

Meta will stay the course in 2023 with investment in its metaverse division expected to account for 20 per cent of its overall expenses.

He added the move is “almost certain to hit earnings hard in 2023.” [in 2021](https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/top-three/facebook-completes-metamorphosis/) that Facebook had changed its corporate name to Meta Platforms, but a large number of [shareholders stated](https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/home-banner/meta-investors-losing-faith-in-metaverse-bet/) this year they’ve lost faith in that decision to focus resources on metaverse products and services. [in Q3](https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/top-three/meta-value-takes-65b-hit-as-q3-disappoints/), up $1.1 billion year-on-year, as the company invested 18 per cent in the metaverse division in that quarter.

The Commission said in a preliminary view that it would further investigate and that it could impose a fine of up to 10% of the company's annual global ...

[Subscribe](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/subscription?newslettertype=div_3125&email=2&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DailyTop5)to our daily newsletter for the latest and must-read tech news, delivered straight to your inbox. The Commission said on Monday that it was concerned that Meta is imposing "unfair trading conditions" on competitors of its own classified ads service, Facebook Marketplace, that want to advertise on its social networks Facebook or Instagram. In a separate statement on Monday, the Commission also said it had closed its antitrust investigation into Google and Meta for online display advertising services, adding that "a careful assessment of evidence did not confirm its initial concerns". It said it was concerned the terms and conditions - which authorise Meta to use ads-related data derived from competitors for the benefit of Facebook Marketplace - are unjustified, disproportionate and not necessary for the provision of online display advertising services on Meta's platforms. [online classified ads](/topic/online-classified-ads)service to its social network, Meta was also abusing its dominant position by unilaterally imposing unfair trading conditions on competing online classified ads services which advertise on Facebook or European Union's antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said in a statement that she is concerned that Meta ties its dominant social network Facebook to its online classified ad services, which is called

Facebook parent Meta Platforms does not expect to seal its acquisition deal with Within Unlimited, maker of the popular fitness app "Supernatural", ...

Meta has agreed to push back the closing by one month or until the first day after the court rules on U.S. Within Unlimited, founded in 2014, creates original content for virtual reality. 31, according to a court filing from Tuesday.

WASHINGTON/SAN JOSE : Mark Zuckerberg, Chief Executive of Facebook parent Meta Platforms, took the stand on Tuesday in a high profile trial over the future ...

It has accused Meta of trying to buy its way to dominance in the metaverse. Meta is battling a multipronged, global battle against regulators over its dominance in various markets. The FTC sued the Facebook and Instagram owner in July to stop the deal, saying its "campaign to conquer VR (virtual reality)" began in 2014 when it acquired Oculus, a VR headset manufacturer.

META Platforms's chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth pointed to the innovative failures at the world's biggest social media company to make the case ...

Meta Platforms Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg took the witness stand to defend his company's acquisition of virtual reality startup Within ...

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook parent company Meta, is on the witness stand in a California courtroom as part of the FTC's effort to stop the tech ...

Meta’s Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth said in Monday testimony that the company needs to get the deal done soon, and if the case isn’t resolved in a timely fashion, it will probably walk away. During his testimony at the trial in San Jose, California, Zuckerberg seemed to play down the notion that fitness is a distinct, top category in VR. Online ad spending is on the decline, competition, notably from rival TikTok, is growing, and Meta recently Meta, like other companies reliant on online advertising for revenue, saw a big business boost during the pandemic lockdown when people were staying home glued to their phones and computers. If there’s no defined market, it becomes more difficult to prove that case. antitrust regulators’ effort to stop the tech giant from buying a virtual reality startup called Within Unlimited.

Meta is likely to face EU fines for breaching anti-trust laws. Facebook's parent company has been accused of flouting competition rules by an EU commission.

Even though Meta is headquartered in the US as well, it is liable to EU regulation. The US based retailer agreed to settle in order to avoid heavy fines. As Facebook is a dominant player in the market, this may skewer competition.

Meta's chief executive made a rare court appearance as the Federal Trade Commission tries to block his company's purchase of the virtual reality start-up ...

[Andrew Bosworth](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/26/technology/zuckerberg-meta-facebook-earnings.html), Meta’s chief technology officer, took the stand. Aaron Koblin, the founder of Within, also appeared as a witness, as did Mark Rabkin, a Meta executive. Zuckerberg had just declared that his social networking company was [transitioning into a metaverse company](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/28/technology/facebook-meta-name-change.html). [prominent critic ](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/07/technology/monopoly-antitrust-lina-khan-amazon.html)of Silicon Valley, has pledged to check the tech giants’ power and take them to court more often. [testified](https://twitter.com/Swiftstories/status/1602719477275234308) that the deal harmed competition. [would buy Within](https://www.oculus.com/blog/within-to-join-meta/) in October 2021. Davila of the district court began hearing arguments over the injunction. [he testified](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/17/technology/mark-zuckerberg-oculus-trial-virtual-reality-facebook.html) in 2017 in federal court in a case involving Oculus, a virtual reality company that Facebook bought for more than $2 billion, over accusations from a video game publisher that Oculus stole its intellectual property. Fitness, the lawyer said, would bring more women and older users to the metaverse and would establish Meta’s virtual reality products within the general population. At the San Jose federal courthouse, Mr. The hearing is set to determine whether the F.T.C. The case involves the Federal Trade Commission seeking to

(Bloomberg) -- Meta Platforms Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg says the fact his company doesn't have a virtual reality fitness app up doesn't ...

The FTC sued Meta for allegedly violating antitrust law by acquiring VR fitness competitor Within, which makes the Supernatrual app.

(Alliance News) - Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Facebook's parent company Meta ...

The case, expected to end on Tuesday, is being heard by US District Judge Edward Davila, who also oversaw the trial of disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and her partner Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani. During his testimony, Zuckerberg seemed to play down the notion that fitness is a distinct, top category in VR. Online ad spending is on the decline, competition, notably from rival TikTok, is growing, and Meta recently laid off 13% of its workforce.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Meta chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg told a federal court on Tuesday that he does not consider fitness apps to be key to his plan ...

There was even some discussion about forming a relationship with Peloton — an idea that Zuckerberg supported at one point, according to Michael Verdu, the social media giant’s former vice president of augmented reality and virtual reality. Meta has funneled billions of dollars into making that vision a reality, which has helped the VR app market grow from a niche audience of gamers to one with some mainstream recognition. The FTC’s case arrives at a time when FTC chair Lina Khan and the Biden administration have promised to usher in tougher antitrust enforcement against the major technology companies, including Meta, Google, Apple and Amazon. “There is no way to sugar coat this; I think our organization is operating at half the effectiveness that would make me happy.” Now that Meta is experiencing an economic downturn, the company is cutting back on expenses and “not spinning up new projects.” The company recently laid off approximately 13,000 people. Buying Within subsequently meant that consumers were deprived of that competition and choice, the agency said.

Meta Platforms Inc boss Mark Zuckerberg defended his acquisition of a virtual reality fitness app to an antitrust judge on Tuesday, arguing that his company ...

The FTC is separately trying to force Meta to unwind two previous acquisitions, Instagram and WhatsApp, in a lawsuit filed in 2020. He said Zuckerberg was aware of the plan to deliver that message. It is available only on Meta's Quest headsets, which market research firm IDC estimates account for 90% of global shipments in the VR hardware market. 31 or until the day after the court rules on the FTC's request for a preliminary injunction. The European Commission on Monday said it had On fitness apps, he said, "it's less important that we own the experiences than that they exist."

SAN JOSE/WASHINGTON :Meta Platforms boss Mark Zuckerberg said the company is focused on building communications apps and developer platforms, speaking on ...

It has accused Meta of trying to buy its way to dominance in the metaverse. Meta is battling a multipronged, global battle against regulators over its dominance in various markets. The FTC sued the Facebook and Instagram owner in July to stop the deal, saying its "campaign to conquer VR (virtual reality)" began in 2014 when it acquired Oculus, a VR headset manufacturer.

The European Commission said earlier this week that Facebook's parent company, Meta, had violated the EU's antitrust laws on the Facebook Marketplace.