Meta acquired Giphy in 2020 for $400 million, which was soon countered by the UK regulator, as it may disturb the competition among social media platforms and the local advertising market. While Facebook is fighting that, the regulator is fining and discouraging the deal.
UK Fining Meta For Irregularities
Facebook changing the name to Meta hasn’t changed anything much. The company is still strangled with many problems and just added one now. As per reports, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has fined Meta a sum of £1.5 million on Friday since the company failed to disclose key information from the Giphy deal. Facebook (now Meta) has acquired Giphy in 2020 for $400 million. The deal has immediately triggered scrutiny by the UK competition regulator, which set the deal under review just a month after it was announced. As per its filings, Meta should notify the regulator regarding any resignations or replacements of key personnel from the deal. And Meta failed to do that! As a result, the company is now accused of not informing the CMA about the resignation of three key employees and the reallocation of their roles. These three people were mentioned in the key staff of Meta’s deal with Giphy, so failing to notify the regulator regarding their reliving has attracted the fine of £1.5 million. This is the second time Meta was fined in Giphy’s deal, with the first one being a £50 million penalty for significantly limiting the scope of compliance reports. Also, CMA is asking Meta to sell off Giphy, as the deal could disturb the competition between social media platforms and the local advertising market. And Meta is now appealing to Competition Tribunal, saying that CMA has no right in forcing such deals.
