© Reuters.
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has rejected a request filed by Meta, parent company of Facebook (NASDAQ:), that the agency’s chairman, Lina Khan, not participate in any decision regarding the review of the purchase from virtual reality app maker Within Unlimited by the company.
The FTC said it denied the request, in a decision without Khan’s participation.
US Judge Edward Davila ruled on Tuesday that Meta could proceed with the acquisition, a source told Reuters, confirming reports by Bloomberg News and others.
Davila complied with the FTC’s request to temporarily block completion of the deal until Feb. 7 to give the commission time to evaluate options, the source confirmed. Davila’s decision was not made public.
The FTC, seeking to block the deal, called Facebook a “global technology colossus”, citing its Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp apps, and said its “campaign to conquer virtual reality” began in 2014, when it acquired Oculus. , a manufacturer of virtual reality glasses.
Facebook agreed to purchase Within in October 2021.
Meta asked Khan not to participate in the review due to statements about Facebook that she made prior to joining the FTC.
Two FTC commissioners said in rejecting the request, “These statements pertain to a different industry, a different field of transactions than those presented here, and effectively a purchase of a different company.”
Meta has previously filed a petition to bar Khan from reviewing an FTC antitrust lawsuit. A US judge ruled last year that Khan’s removal was not necessary.