Facebook is now being investigated in Germany for linking usage of its VR product, Oculus, to having a Facebook account.
The tech giant raised several eyebrows in the VR community when it announced that it would be ending support for the existing Oculus account by 2023 and merging new users into a single Facebook account. This means that new users would immediacy be required to have a Facebook account if they want to log in and access content for the virtual reality kit.
Facebook has been trying to add a ‘social layer’ to the VR platform for some time now. This year it also changed the name of the VR business to ‘Facebook Reality Labs’, indicating its addition to the wider social empire.
However, the latest tactic did not prove to be popular with gamers. And now antitrust authorities are taking an interest in the move as well.
Germany’s Federal Cartel Office (aka, the Bundeskartellamt) said last week that it is examining the link between the VR product and flagship Facebook platform.
The proceedings by Germany FCO comes at a bad time for Facebook. The social media giant has already been served with a massive antitrust lawsuit from 46 states, accusing its suppressing competition through monopolistic business practices.
When contacted, Facebook said that Oculus devices are currently not available for sale in Germany. However, they will fully cooperate with the officials and are confident that there will be no basis for this investigation.
Read next: Why Facebook's Battle Against Fake Social Media Accounts is Going Worse Than You Think
The tech giant raised several eyebrows in the VR community when it announced that it would be ending support for the existing Oculus account by 2023 and merging new users into a single Facebook account. This means that new users would immediacy be required to have a Facebook account if they want to log in and access content for the virtual reality kit.
Facebook has been trying to add a ‘social layer’ to the VR platform for some time now. This year it also changed the name of the VR business to ‘Facebook Reality Labs’, indicating its addition to the wider social empire.
However, the latest tactic did not prove to be popular with gamers. And now antitrust authorities are taking an interest in the move as well.
Germany’s Federal Cartel Office (aka, the Bundeskartellamt) said last week that it is examining the link between the VR product and flagship Facebook platform.
The proceedings by Germany FCO comes at a bad time for Facebook. The social media giant has already been served with a massive antitrust lawsuit from 46 states, accusing its suppressing competition through monopolistic business practices.
When contacted, Facebook said that Oculus devices are currently not available for sale in Germany. However, they will fully cooperate with the officials and are confident that there will be no basis for this investigation.
Read next: Why Facebook's Battle Against Fake Social Media Accounts is Going Worse Than You Think
