Dozens of U.S. states back FTC challenge to Meta's Within deal - Reuters

(Reuters) - Twenty-three states including New York and California connected Monday said they enactment the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's bid to halt Facebook genitor Meta Platforms Inc from buying virtual world contented shaper Within Unlimited Inc, saying the woody would trim manufacture contention and harm consumers.

The states filed their friend-of-the-court brief successful San Jose, California, national court, wherever the FTC successful July asked a national justice to barroom Meta's acquisition of Los Angeles-based Within. Facebook past twelvemonth agreed to bargain backstage institution Within, developer of the fashionable virtual-reality based fittingness app Supernatural.

"Meta's acquisition of Within whitethorn substantially lessen contention and thin to make a monopoly by eliminating some perceived and existent imaginable competition," the states said successful their amicus brief, which was pending a court's submission support connected Tuesday. The states, joined by the District of Columbia and Guam, said the woody threatens to "harm contention successful the emerging virtual world space."

A Meta spokesperson connected Tuesday called the FTC's antitrust ailment "ill-conceived" and said the amicus little from the states "does thing to alteration the information that determination is vibrant contention successful the VR space."

Meta has opposed the amicus submission arsenic untimely, but the states' attorneys said determination was nary established deadline for friend-of-court filings.

The New York Attorney General's Office did not instantly reply to a connection seeking comment, and neither did a spokesperson for the FTC.

Meta has denied the FTC's allegations and urged U.S. District Judge Edward Davila to contradict the agency's bid for a preliminary injunction and to disregard the complaint.

New York is starring a abstracted antitrust suit against Meta implicit its acquisition of Instagram successful 2012 for $1 billion, and its acquisition of WhatsApp for $19 cardinal successful 2014.

Lawyers for New York successful September asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to revive the states' claims aft a U.S. territory tribunal justice dismissed the case.

Utah, which besides signed the amicus brief, is leading a radical of states successful an antitrust suit challenging however Google runs its app store.

Google has denied the states' claims, saying that Google Play provides openness and prime that different platforms simply don't."

The lawsuit is Federal Trade Commission v. Meta Platforms Inc, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, No. 5:22-cv-04325.

For Federal Trade Commission: Abby Dennis of the FTC

For Meta: Eric Hochstadt of Weil, Gotshal & Manges; and Mark Hansen of Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick

Read more:

Meta loses bid, for now, to depose FTC implicit agency's situation to Within deal

FTC files slimmed-down ailment successful combat with Meta implicit Within acquisition

U.S. states inquire appeals tribunal to reinstate Facebook lawsuit

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