Judge Edward Davila in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California denied an injunction by the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, as part of an effort to block Meta from purchasing VR firm Within. However, he also reportedly issued a temporary restraining order preventing Meta from closing the deal for at least a week.

The ruling was part of a lawsuit filed by the FTC against Meta and CEO Mark Zuckerberg in July in an attempt to block the tech firm from “its ultimate goal of owning the entire ‘metaverse.’” Meta had planned to purchase Within and its fitness app Supernatural, allegedly to acquire a potential threat to its metaverse plans.

If successful in its legal efforts, Meta would likely be able to acquire small companies offering metaverse-related products or services and have them operate under its umbrella rather than as competitors. The FTC reportedly has a week to file an appeal to Judge Davila’s decision.

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