Facebook appeals UK decision to sell GB

By milk sand

LONDON (Reuters) – Facebook-owned meta-maker Giphy has appealed to the UK over its decision to sell its animated film site, saying there was no evidence that the deal could threaten its rivals or affect competition in visual advertising.

After the British Competition and Markets Commission (CMA) decided last month that the solutions offered by the US company did not respond to his concerns, it ordered Meta to sell the GB, which it bought in May 2020 for $ 400 million.

This is the first time that a British regulator has blocked a major acquisition in the industry, and this marks a sea shift in its stance on large technology companies.

“We are appealing the CMA decision on Giffy and seeking to have the exemption order revoked,” a Meta spokeswoman said Thursday.

Half of the traffic to Giphy’s largest image library comes from meta sites such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. GIFs are also popular with Dictoc, Twitter and Snapshot users, and the CMA is concerned that it could restrict meta access or force competitors to provide more user data.

The company said it could not alter competitors’ access rules or collect additional data from the use of GIFs that do not have online tracking mechanisms such as pixels or cookies.

The CMA rejected this appeal and offered to bind the meta legally because it would require continued monitoring.

The regulator expressed concern that the meta could close Giphy’s new advertising deal and remove potential sources of competition.

The company said that Giphy’s advertising business had failed and that if it had the potential to become a major competitor, its model could be replicated by any other GIF provider.