In October 2021, Culver City, Calif.-based Within announced that Facebook’s parent company would acquire it for an undisclosed sum. On Wednesday, the FTC filed a complaint in the U.S. District for the Northern District of California seeking to halt the deal. “The FTC’s case is based on ideology and speculation, not evidence,” said Meta spokesperson Alex Kucharski, adding it’s “simply not credible” that the acquisition would pose“anti-competitive outcomes in a dynamic space with as much entry and growth as online and connected fitness.” (The Logic)

Talking point: Within’s flagship product is Supernatural, an app available in the U.S. and Canada on the Meta Quest family of headsets that offers pre-recorded workouts from charismatic instructors set to music. (Think Peloton, but make it VR.) The FTC’s complaint alleges the takeover would lessen competition in the market for VR fitness. It cited an email that CEO Mark Zuckerberg sent to executives in June 2015—six years before renaming the firm formerly known as Facebook—saying he wanted to be “completely ubiquitous in killer apps” for VR and AR, “using acquisitions opportunistically” to complement internal builds. Meta, which acquired the headset maker Oculus in March 2014, is reportedly considering buying the Waterloo, Ont.-based AdHawk Microsystems, which makes eye-tracking technology for metaverse hardware.