Meta forced to sell Giphy after British antitrust order

On Tuesday, Meta said it would sell Giphy, the online repository of videos for PetsAnd the face features And other animated GIFs, a major defeat for the social media giant in a long-running dispute with British antitrust regulators.

This is the first time that regulators have forced Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, to sell a portion of its business.

GIFs are often funny and shared as silly reactions in online conversations – like the rock He raised an eyebrow — but the case is an example of the serious stance that antitrust regulators are taking toward the biggest tech companies around the world.

Meta bought Giphy in 2020 for $315 million, giving it ownership of one of the largest hubs for short videos that are a popular form of online communication. But British regulators said the deal reduced competition in social media and in the display ad market, an area dominated by Meta and where Giphy began expanding before the deal.

The UK Competition and Markets Authority ordered Meta first to sell Giphy last year, but the ruling has been appealed to a court that recently sided with the government. On Tuesday, Meta said it would accept British rule as “the last word on the matter” and would sell Giphy. Meta said the sale would apply globally, not just in Britain.

Regulators around the world are scrutinizing a common Silicon Valley tactic of buying smaller companies that can grow into major competitors. In the United States, Meta is fighting allegations made by the Federal Trade Commission and several states They got smaller competitors to thwart competition.

In July, the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit to block the purchase of Meta for Inside, the maker of a popular virtual reality fitness app called Supernatural.