The U.K’s Competition watchdog has ordered Facebook owner, Meta to sell Giphy – the top source for GIF and animated stickers online.
The directive could cause damage on social media users and U.K. advertisers. Meta also declared that it disagrees with the decision and is considering an appeal.
The watchdog concluded that Meta’s acquisition of Giphy would minimize competition among social media platforms, adding that the deal has already eliminated Giphy as a potential challenger in the advertising market.
A panel disclosed in its findings that if Facebook denies other social media platforms access to Giphy’s GIFs, it’ll increase the significant power of Facebook in relation to other social media platforms. The panel further concluded that Facebook and its sites – Whatsapp & Instagram will get more traffic which would require the likes of TikTok, Twitter and Snapchat users to consume more data in order to access the Giphy’s GIFs. In the U.K, 73% of internet users spend their internet time on social media.
The CMA expressed further that if Giphy’s ad services was maintained, it would compete with Facebook’s display advertising services and also encourage other social media sites.
Start McIntosh, chairman of the Independent inquiry group declared that by directing Meta to sell Giphy, competition would be promoted in the industry.
