Meta lets Quest VR headsets be used without a Facebook account as company bows to German regulator

The office said Wednesday that Facebook’s parent company Meta Platforms has responded to the German cartel office’s concerns by allowing the use of virtual reality headsets without a Facebook account.

The cartel office has been watching closely meta since May when it declared it “of paramount importance to competition between markets”, a classification that gives the regulator more scope to limit the market power of companies. digital company.

In a statement on Wednesday, the German cartel office said Meta will allow the use of the device with a separate Meta account, clearing the way for it to start selling the device. mission 2 headphones in Germany. This also applies to the new one professional duty model, it added.

Meta did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.

Cartel office manager Andreas Mundt pointed to Meta’s strong position on social media as well as the burgeoning VR market.

“If using a VR headset is only possible for Facebook or Instagram membership, which could seriously affect competition in both sectors,” he said.

Although the headset is made available to others through the Meta account, the German regulator said it will continue to monitor the design of user choices and issues related to the compilation. and handle user data from Meta services.

© Thomson Reuters 2022