Facebook's relationship with the video games industry has been rocky, at best. The company's acquisition of virtual reality company Oculus has been a particular issue for many enthusiasts, some of whom adopted virtual reality hardware early operating under the assumption that the platform would be free and clear from the influence of a social media giant. Now, a new chapter in the Facebook-Oculus saga is about to begin, as Facebook is reportedly being investigated by the Department of Justice over Oculus
According to a report by Bloomberg, virtual reality developers are accusing Facebook of blocking competition and stealing ideas, which the company has been accused of in the past in a variety of industries, though most notably Instagram. The strategy — referred to as "copy, acquire, kill" by some — has drawn scrutiny in recent years, especially as some deem the giant too powerful.
Some now claim that Facebook is employing the same strategy against virtual reality developers in order to grow Oculus. These claims have reportedly gained the attention of the Justice Department's antitrust division, which is now speaking with developers about their interactions with Facebook. The report states that Facebook is making it more difficult for certain apps to work on Oculus, selling headsets below-cost, and copying ideas.
One of the most recent incidents comes from Yur Inc., which released a fitness tracking app for Oculus headsets, showing users how many calories they've burned during a gaming session. Yur's fitness app released in September 2019, but the company wasn't able to get it onto the Oculus Store despite jumping through hoops to meet Facebook's requirements, though the app was available through an alternate store. Then, during the spring of this year, Facebook released a software update that blocked Yur's app from working in Oculus apps. In September of 2020, Facebook released Oculus Move, its own fitness tracking app for the headsets.
Other developers have similar stories, though there's a common theme. Facebook limits an application's ability to operate, copies the idea, then implements it into the Oculus platform, effectively killing the companies behind it. Similar complaints have been levied against other companies in the past, though Facebook has come under increasing scrutiny in the past few years.
That scrutiny could land Facebook in hot water, depending on how the investigation proceeds. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has found himself testifying in front of Congress on a few occasions now, and it isn't unlikely that he'll end up doing so again.
Source: Bloomberg