British competition watchdogs want to force the Facebook group Meta to resell the clip platform Giphy, which it took over last year. The merger would weaken the competition between online services in Great Britain, according to the antitrust authority CMA. The Facebook group could thus strengthen its leading market position and put competitors under pressure, she argued. Selling is the only way to allay the concerns. Among other things, the authority sees the danger that Meta could make it more difficult for rivals from Facebook and Instagram to integrate Giphy’s animated images. The group could demand that Giphy customers such as Tiktok, Twitter or Snapchat share more customer data with him in order to access the gifs. The CMA emphasized that Giphy was also a competitor for the Facebook group in the online advertising market until the takeover. Meta is considering objecting to the order, said a spokesman for the Facebook group in a first reaction. The users and Giphy benefit from the access of the clip service to the infrastructure of Meta, and the merger offers “more choice for everyone”. Large tech platforms have recently been the focus of competition watchdogs. However, it is the first foray by a regulator to call for a deal that has already been completed to be reversed. Meta bought Giphy in May 2020. The purchase price is said to have been more than $ 300 million.
Competition – Facebook should sell Giphy again – Economy
