Big Tech Companies: you can run but you can’t hide…

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has ordered Facebook’s parent Meta to sell Giphy – the largest supplier of animated GIFs to social networks – after concluding that the acquisition is anti-competitive.

The CMA stated that the acquisition of Giphy would increase Facebook’s already “significant market power” and lead to reduced competition between social media platforms in two ways: by limiting other platforms’ access to Giphy’s GIFs and therefore driving traffic to Facebook-owned sites, and by potentially forcing competitors such as Twitter and TikTok to provide more user data in exchange for access to Giphy’s GIFs.

Although Meta has stated it is considering an appeal, this is the first time the CMA has ordered a big tech company to reverse a deal and it could set a notable precedent for big tech purchases going forward.

Facebook parent company Meta has been ordered by the UK competition watchdog to sell the gif creation website Giphy, the first time the regulator has moved to block a deal struck by one of the Silicon Valley giants.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/nov/30/uk-competition-watchdog-orders-meta-to-sell-gif-website-giphy