Oct 08, 2022 18:00:00

VR start-up involved in Meta's antitrust lawsuit complains, 'I want you to leave me alone because I'm not a competitor or anything'

In a

lawsuit between the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Meta that has been ongoing since 2020, Meta has been accused by the FTC of 'obstructing fair market competition.' In response, Meta objected that ``the market is constantly evolving with competitors,'' and asked more than 100 competitors to disclose their marketing information, etc. in order to present evidence. . However, SimulaVR, one of the emerging companies that were asked to disclose information and statutory testimony, criticized that ``I am not a competitor or anything, and witness interrogation is a good nuisance.''

SimulaVR Has Been Subpoenaed by Meta Platforms, Inc
https://simulavr.com/blog/subpoenaed-by-meta/

SimulaVR is a company that focuses on the development of VR devices, such as announcing the world's first Linux-equipped stand-alone VR headset '

Simula One '.

Such SimulaVR posted an article on the official website on October 5, 2022, revealing that a summons suddenly arrived from Meta.

According to SimulaVR, one day a large package arrived from Meta's legal team and a subpoena asking them to go to court with the FTC and Meta. According to the memo, SimulaVR will have the next 20 days to provide 'details of its current and future business plans,' 'documents proving its relationship with VR/AR developers and app stores,' and 'showing current and future sales figures.' It is said that it is required to document various internal information such as 'financial report' and to testify directly on these issues in court thousands of kilometers away by the specified deadline.

SimulaVR is dissatisfied with this, saying, 'I can't afford to do this.' “Unlike other parties subpoenaed with us, small startups like ours cannot afford the time or money to hire counsel to participate in high-level litigation, antitrust litigation. No. Also, it is very strange that we are being summoned against such a large and well-established company.I don't think there is much we can do about this.' I was.

On the other hand, he understood Meta's stance, saying, 'Meta has a responsibility to prove that it is not engaging in anti-competitive behavior, and perhaps the only action Meta can take to prove this is now. It's about subpoenaing your competitors and demanding documents that will help them in court, so I understand their point of view,' he defended. However, ``I don't think the opponent they should call is a small start-up company like us without financial strength. I have doubts as to why.

SimulaVR said, ``Meta sells a ``good enough gaming VR headset'' for those who want to have fun in VR.We sell general-purpose productivity devices aimed at replacing PCs and laptops. So our real competition is laptops and PCs, not other gaming VR headsets, from our point of view Meta's headset is for a completely different purpose Just like how few people did any serious work with the Atari in the 80's, no one does any serious work with a headset that's primarily meant for entertainment. I don't think there will be many,' he said, arguing that he cannot be considered a competitor of Meta in the first place. 'We wish Meta the best of luck and hope they leave us alone,' he concluded.

Speaking of Meta's VR circumstances, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, ``We will announce the next-generation VR headset in October 2022,''and the research team has a technology that reproduces the movement of the lower body with just the headset and controller. While the attitude of putting effort into both software and hardware, such as developing The Metaverse on the left has many bugs, and it has been reported that even employees hardly use it.