Top in Tech: What Meta's Within victory means for Lina Khan and the FTC

The Global Counsel Podcast

Top in Tech is going weekly! In each episode, we'll be covering the week's biggest tech policy story with an expert from our GC team. We'll also continue to host thought leaders and industry experts for monthly in-depth conversations about the future of tech regulation. Subscribe now to immediately receive new episodes of 'Top in Tech' on your favourite podcast platform, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

To kick us off, Senior Practice Director Conan D'Arcy is joined by Senior Associate Ugonma Nwankwo to look at a US court's decision allowing Meta to acquire fitness VR startup Within. The FTC argued that Meta's purchase would give it an unfair advantage in the burgeoning metaverse ecosystem, an argument strongly reminiscent of what critics levied against the social media giant when it purchased Whatsapp and Instagram during the early days of the smartphone. The decision is a loss for the FTC under Chairwoman Lina Khan, who has led the agency to adopt a more robust position on antitrust and competition law.

Conan and Ugonma discuss what the decision means for Meta, how the loss may impact the FTC's agenda, and what this all means for the next big tech deal on the horizon: Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

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