As a result of the regulators demands, Meta has agreed that users who want to use the Quest 2 VR headset offered by Meta Quest (formerly Oculus) no longer need a Facebook account to do so.

Meta has responded to the Bundeskartellamt’s competition concerns and now also offers the possibility to set up the headset using a separate account, the Meta account.

The sale of the headsets in Germany can thus go ahead and this also applies to the new Quest Pro headset.

In late 2020 the Bundeskartellamt initiated a proceeding against Meta for making the use of Oculus conditional on the existence of a Facebook account.

In early 2021 – immediately after the introduction of new regulations – the authority included the new legal basis in its proceeding.

In a decision of 2 May 2022 the Bundeskartellamt established that Meta is a company of paramount significance across markets and this finding was a prerequisite for the Bundeskartellamt to take anti-competitive measures.

Meta did not appeal the decision, which is therefore final, and the Facebook owner expressed its interest in an amicable solution in the Facebook/Oculus matter.

As a result, in late August 2022 Meta introduced the Meta account, which allows users to use the Quest 2 and Quest Pro headsets without a Facebook or Instagram account.

The Bundeskartellamt made it clear that in the process of setting up the headsets users would have to be allowed to decide as freely and uninfluenced as possible whether to use the headsets separately or in connection with other Meta services.

According to the German regulator, following corresponding adjustments, particularly with regard to user dialogues, the Quest 2 and Quest Pro headsets are also expected to be available in Germany soon.

The proceeding is not yet concluded, however. In addition to the specific choice architecture, the authority also examines in this proceeding whether and how data processed in the context of different Meta services are combined.

The extent to which such data processing is permissible remains the subject of discussions between the Bundeskartellamt and Meta, in particular also in the context of the proceeding on Facebook’s data processing terms, which is currently pending before the European Court of Justice.

Until this matter has been clarified, Meta will, subject to certain exceptions, keep the data of users with a separate Meta account which are generated during their use of the Meta Quest headsets separate from the data gathered from other Meta services.

“The digital ecosystem created by Meta with a very large user base makes the company the key player in social media," said Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt.

"Meta is also an important player in the growing VR market.

"Competition in these two sectors could be severely impeded if only Facebook or Instagram members were able to use the VR headsets.

"While we welcome this development, we will not terminate the proceeding today.

"We will now continue to monitor the actual design of users' options as well as issues regarding the combination and processing of user data from the various Meta services."