Meta Is Borrowing From Google’s ‘Open’ Playbook ⇥ theverge.com

Adi Robertson, the Verge:

So far, huge parts of Meta’s “openness” happen on its terms and can evaporate the moment they become inconvenient. If you’re Satya Nadella, then sure, you’re in a strong bargaining position. But if you’re a small developer pushing the Quest’s technical limits, you might find yourself censured for risking a bad user experience — or in a less generous interpretation, competing with a Meta app. If you’re a user who wants a Quest headset but not a Horizon social profile, then with rare exceptions, you won’t get past the setup screen. Successful VR studios have a habit of getting absorbed by Meta, mirroring how the company fights competition in the non-VR web.

Remember when one of Google’s main marketing messages for Android was its openness? It was true, except for all the ways it was not.