On Tuesday the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) – the equivalent of the Italian Antitrust – said that Meta, the company that controls Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and other services, must sell Giphy, the popular platform for searching and sharing GIFs that Facebook had bought about a year and a half ago. The CMA's decision is the result of a lengthy investigation, the preliminary results of which were released in August.
According to the CMA, Meta's acquisition of Giphy limits competition between social media platforms, because it can be used to deny or restrict other platforms' access to Giphy's GIFs, while generating more traffic to Facebook, WhatsApp. and Instagram. The acquisition, the CMA says, also led to the removal of Giphy's standalone advertising services, which could have rivaled those of Meta. To ensure fairer competition, the CMA concluded, Meta must sell Giphy to another company.
It's an important decision – it's the first time that CMA has ordered a major tech firm like Meta to go back on an acquisition, and its investigation is just one of others currently underway into such acquisitions. Meta, however, can appeal against the decision (and is considering doing so).
