Meta challenges UK antitrust regulator over order to sell Giphy

• Meta said CMA’s ruling does not support the finding that the deal is a threat to its rivals

• Giphy’s half of the traffic comes from Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp

Facebook-owner Meta Platforms Inc is challenging the UK antitrust watchdog’s ruling asking the social media giant to sell animated images platform Giphy, which it acquired for around $400 million.

The company has filed an appeal of the decision at the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal and asked the court to halt the regulator’s order, saying the evidence does not support the finding that the deal is a threat to its rivals or could impact competition.

“We are appealing the CMA’s Giphy decision and will seek a stay of the CMA’s order to divest,” a Meta spokesperson said on Thursday.

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“The decision to block the deal is wrong on the law and the facts, and the evidence does not support the CMA’s conclusions or remedy.”

Meta vs. CMA

Last month, Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ordered Meta to sell Giphy, which it acquired in May 2020, after it concluded that the deal had already eliminated Giphy as a prospective challenger in the display advertising market.

Giphy gives users access to millions of animated images or GIFs and video clips. 

Although half of the traffic to Giphy’s library comes from Meta products — Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, it’s also popular among users of TikTok, Twitter, and Snapchat.

During the ruling, the CMA expressed worries that Meta could limit access or force rivals to provide more user data.

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Meta said it would not change the terms of access for competitors nor collect additional data from the use of GIFs, which have no online tracking pixels.

The CMA rejected Meta’s argument and asked for legally binding, otherwise, it would require ongoing monitoring.

Scrutiny against Big Tech

The UK is in the process of revising domestic competition law to protect smaller innovators from the market muscle of Big Tech, and the first time the British regulator had blocked a major digital acquisition.

The agency is also looking into Microsoft’s $19.7 billion acquisition of artificial intelligence and speech-to-text firm Nuance Communications.

Picture Credit: Bloomberg