Several U.S. states have opened investigations into possible competition violations by Meta Platform in running its virtual reality Oculus business, according to people familiar with the matter. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is also involved in the antitrust investigation, two of the sources said. Meta did not respond to a request for comment.
New York, North Carolina and Tennessee are all involved in the investigation, a source said. On Friday, the group of nearly 50 states also petitioned the appeals court to revive the antitrust lawsuit they filed against Meta in December 2020. The offices of the attorneys general in New York, North Carolina and Tennessee also did not respond to requests for comment.
Today, Oculus dominates the virtual reality headset market. In the first quarter of 2021, the company’s devices accounted for 75% of global VR device shipments, up from 34% in the same period last year, according to Counterpoint Research.