Last year Facebook (now Meta) started the process of acquiring Giphy for $400 million. Now it looks like the deal may fall through after regulators in the UK are reportedly planning to block the purchase.
According to the Financial Times, the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) are planning to block the deal “in the coming days” due to concerns that it would negatively affect competition.
The concern is reported that Meta would cut off the delicious stream of gifs Giphy provides from other social networks such as Snapchat and Tiktok.
The regulator may also place conditions on how Meta operates Giphy, to ensure a level playing field.
If true, the rumour is an example of the increasing scrutiny Meta/Facebook is under when it comes to securing their position by hoovering up the competition, something which the company has been unable to escape merely by changing its name.
via Pocketnow.