The cartel office has been closely watching Meta since May
when it declared it was of "paramount significance for competition across
markets", a classification that gives the regulator more scope to curb
digital companies' market power.
In a statement on Wednesday, Germany's cartel office said
Meta will allow the device to be used with a separate Meta account, clearing
the path for it to begin selling the Quest 2 headset in Germany. This also
applies to the new Quest Pro model, it added.
Meta did not immediately reply to an emailed request for
comment.
Cartel office chief Andreas Mundt pointed to Meta's strong
position in social media as well as the growing VR market.
"If the use of VR headsets were only possible for
Facebook or Instagram members, this could severely affect competition in both
areas," he said
Despite the headset being made available to others via the
Meta account, the German regulator said it would continue to monitor the design
of user choices and issues relating to the aggregation and processing of user
data from Meta services. © Reuters