Facebook-owner Meta asked to sell Giphy by British regulator 

Britain's competition regulator on Tuesday said that it has directed Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook, to sell gif platform Giphy. The regulator said that the deal may harm social media users and advertisers in UK.

Meta has been quoted by Reuters as saying that it disagrees with the decision.

Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the regulator, said that Facebook's acquisition of Giphy would lead to lessened competition between social media platforms. The watchdog said that the deal between Meta and Giphy had already removed the latter as a competitor from the market.

A panel of the Competition and Markets Authority also found that Facebook will be able to further expand its already significant power in social media market with acquisition iof Giphy. This, observed the panel, may be done by blocking or limiting other social media networks' access to Giphy's gif images.

This may in turn, increase traffic to Facebook and its platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp offering more advantage to Meta in the market.

“We disagree with this decision,” A Meta spokesperson said, according to Reuters. “We are reviewing the decision and considering all options, including appeal.”

In August this year, CMA had provisionally found that acquisition of Giphy would offer undue advantage to Facebook. At that time, the watchdog had even said that Facebook may have to unwind the deal.

(With inputs from agencies)