Bloomberg reported a US district court granted Meta Platforms approval to acquire VR app developer Within Unlimited, a decision which could be a major blow to a US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) effort to quash the deal.

The news outlet reported the judge rejected an FTC request for a preliminary injunction against the deal. The trade regulator moved to block the deal in July 2022, accusing Meta Platforms of dominance and warning of adverse effects on the market.

Despite the court ruling, Bloomberg stated the FTC scheduled an internal proceeding on 13 February to decide whether to continue seeking to block the deal.

The court did issue a temporary block on Meta Platforms closing the transaction to give the FTC time to challenge the ruling.

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg had previously challenged FTC claims the company is attempting to build a dominant position in the metaverse, arguing it is seeking to build a fair market for all developers.