UPDATE 1-U.S. FTC denies Meta petition to recuse Khan from Within Unlimited review - Yahoo Finance

(Adds root confirming judge's ruling, background)

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rejected a petition filed by Facebook-parent Meta seeking the recusal of Chair Lina Khan from participating successful immoderate determination concerning the reappraisal of Meta’s projected merger with virtual world app shaper Within Unlimited.

The FTC, which sued successful July to artifact the deal, said without Khan's information that it had denied the order.

U.S. Judge Edward Davila connected Tuesday ruled that Meta could proceed with its acquisition, a idiosyncratic briefed connected the substance told Reuters, confirming reports by Bloomberg News and others.

Davila granted the FTC’s petition to temporarily artifact the closing until Feb. 7 successful bid to springiness the committee clip to measure options, the root confirmed. Davila's sealed sentiment has not been released publicly.

The FTC successful seeking to artifact the woody called Facebook a "global exertion behemoth," noting its ownership of fashionable apps specified arsenic Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp, and said its "campaign to conquer VR" began successful 2014 erstwhile it acquired Oculus, a VR headset manufacturer. Facebook agreed to bargain Within successful October 2021.

Meta sought Khan's recusal implicit anterior statements astir Facebook made earlier she joined the FTC.

Two of the FTC commissioners said successful rejecting Khan's recusal: "Those statements interest a antithetic industry, a antithetic realm of transactions than those presented here, and, effectively, a antithetic acquiring company."

Meta antecedently filed a petition to disqualify Khan from an FTC antitrust suit alleging that Meta monopolized the marketplace for idiosyncratic societal networking services. A U.S. justice past twelvemonth ruled that Khan’s disqualification was not required.

FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson dissented from the recusal decision, pointing to Khan's

prior 2017 statement

urging the FTC "to prohibition each aboriginal Meta transactions." Wilson said that was "an explicit connection that Meta transactions are illegal." (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Mark Porter)