Facebook Loses UK Appeal Over Giphy Merger

Facebook has lost an appeal over an investigation by UK regulators into its acquisition of gif-sharing platform Giphy

The social network announced a US$400 million deal to buy Giphy in May last year.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) stated last June that it was looking into whether the takeover could cause a “substantial lessening of competition in any market or markets in the United Kingdom.”

The watchdog ordered Facebook and Giphy to keep their businesses separate, not to integrate their IT systems or customers lists, and not to exchange sensitive information during the course of the investigation.

Facebook asked the CMA to vary that order so it only applied to the tech giant’s business “insofar as it related to the supply or procurement of gifs.”

The tech giant claimed that the initial enforcement order (IEO) was disproportionate as it applied “across hundreds of businesses and more than 50,000 employees worldwide.”

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