The UK’s competition regulator has forced Meta, formerly known as Facebook, to sell online image platform Giphy, the first time it has unwound a completed Big Tech deal.
The $315m deal, had it gone ahead, would have put Meta in a position to “increase its already significant market power in relation to other social media platforms”, the Competition and Markets Authority confirmed in a statement on Tuesday.
Meta will now be tasked with finding a buyer for Giphy that satisfies the CMA. The watchdog will set a deadline for the sale in the coming months in a legal order, and will only accept a buyer that promises to develop Giphy as an independent and effective rival to Meta.