Giphy had raised $150 million in funding since its founding, but it had yet to turn a profit prior to its acquisition and was reportedly running out of money. The regulator said Meta was “consciously refusing to report all the required information” about its compliance with the order. Responding to the CMA’s provisional findings, Meta argued that the regulator was “sending a chilling message to start-up entrepreneurs: do not build new companies because you will not be able to sell them.”Īlthough Meta pledged to work with the CMA on its investigation, the regulator recently fined the company £50 million ($70 million) for failing to comply with the terms of its initial enforcement order.

It also said “developers and API partners will continue to have the same access to Giphy’s APIs.” In response to the regulator’s investigation, the company argued that Giphy had “no meaningful audience of its own,” and when it announced the acquisition, Meta said that it provided 50 percent of all of Giphy’s traffic. Meta has also previously disputed the CMA’s competition concerns, and has suggested that there was never a chance of Giphy’s advertising business becoming a viable competitor. “Together, Meta and Giphy would enhance Giphy’s product for the millions of people, businesses, developers and API partners in the UK and around the world who use Giphy every day, providing more choices for everyone.” “Both consumers and Giphy are better off with the support of our infrastructure, talent, and resources,” Koch said in a statement to The Verge. Responding to the decision, Meta’s EU director of policy communications Robin Koch, said that the company is considering all its options, including appeal. yRaPxMR43z- Competition & Markets Authority November 30, 2021 We’ve directed #Facebook to sell Giphy after finding the takeover could reduce competition between social media platforms and increase Facebook’s already significant market power. While groundbreaking, the CMA’s decision doesn’t come as a complete surprise after it’s preliminary findings report from August said the deal should be unwound. Although Meta may appeal the decision, the UK regulator’s decision sets a notable precedent for future big tech purchases. This would be the first time the CMA has attempted to unwind a completed acquisition by a tech giant, the Financial Times previously reported. “By requiring Facebook to sell Giphy, we are protecting millions of social media users and promoting competition and innovation in digital advertising,” McInosh said.

“Without action, it will also allow Facebook to increase its significant market power in social media even further, through controlling competitors’ access to Giphy GIFs.” “The tie-up between Facebook and Giphy has already removed a potential challenger in the display advertising market,” the chair of the independent inquiry group Stuart McIntosh said in a statement, referring to Meta.

“By requiring Facebook to sell Giphy, we are protecting millions of social media users”

Giphy phew