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Meta Loses Bid To Depose FTC Antitrust Within Case

By  |  November 2, 2022

A California federal judge on Tuesday spurned a bid by Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc to depose U.S. Federal Trade Commission officials over the agency’s lawsuit seeking to block the social media company from buying virtual reality content maker Within Unlimited.

The FTC sued Meta in July, claiming its acquisition of Within would reduce competition in the market for virtual reality fitness apps. Meta has denied the claims and called the case “ill-conceived.”

Related: Snap Ordered To Hand Over Emails In Meta FTC Antitrust Case

Meta’s lawyers had asked to question the FTC on a range of topics about the case, including how the agency derived the relevant market. They said the agency had “taken the extreme position of refusing to produce any representative” for a deposition.

The judge found much of what Meta wanted to ask the agency about in depositions was shielded by a protection for attorney “work product.”

A Meta spokesperson on Wednesday did not immediately comment, and a representative from the FTC declined to comment.