The purchase of Giphy by Meta (Facebook) continues to be talked about. In recent hours, the company led by Mark Zuckerberg received a new blow in the United Kingdom for failing to comply with an order issued by the British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
We are talking about a fine of 1.5 million pounds sterling. The reason for it? Failure to report the departure of “three key employees,” a fact that the US company was legally required to pass on to regulators. The amount is anecdotal, of course, but it shows that the CMA does not intend to reduce the pressure on Meta until Giphy is released.
“Meta did not alert us in advance about major changes in their staff, despite knowing that they were legally obliged to do so. This is not the first time this has happened,” said Joel Bamford, senior director of Mergers at the British body.
Although the UK Competition and Markets Authority abides by the procedure, it seems that this specific punishment seeks more symbolic than real impact. Since Facebook announced the purchase of Giphy in mid-2020, the deal has been in limbo seeking regulatory approval, with the UK being the source of the main criticism of the business.
British regulators had mentioned in their preliminary considerations that the deal was anti-competitive, and upheld it in the final ruling released last November. There, the CMA demanded that Meta get rid of Giphy, since its investigation showed that the completion of the purchase represented a risk both for the competing social networks and for the online advertising market. .
This is not the first fine Meta has received in the UK for Giphy
According to Bloomberg, the fine that the CMA has now imposed on Meta is not the first to be given in the same case. Already during the last year the British authorities imposed a penalty of more than 50 million pounds sterling for failing to comply with their guidelines.
It is clear that Facebook will do everything possible not to part with Giphy. Let's remember that the social network paid 400 million dollars to keep the popular GIFs platform, despite the British disgust. In fact, the US company appealed the ruling that forced it to sell it; Thus, the story does not seem to be resolved in the short term.
For now, Meta must appear on April 25 for a hearing before the Court of Competition Appeals of the United Kingdom. There, those led by Zuckerberg will have to demonstrate why they believe that the authorities' position is incorrect.
