Meta prepares to appeal UK order for Giphy acquisition

Facebook’s parent company, Meta, submitted an appeal to the UK competition watchdog ruling forcing the tech giant to sell the recently acquired company, Giphy, under the pretense that it removed a potential advertising rival.

In December 2020, the Big Tech giant appealed against the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for prohibiting the acquisition, after it ordered Meta to re-sell the short video animation company which was obtained for $400 million.

At the time, a Meta spokesperson expressed the reason behind the appeal, saying, “we are appealing the CMA’s Giphy decision and will seek a stay of the CMA’s order to divest.”

“The decision to block the deal is wrong on the law and the facts, and the evidence does not support the CMA’s conclusions or remedy,” he added.

On Wednesday, the Competition Appeal Tribunal revealed a briefing of Meta’s application, classifying its “challenge on six grounds,” according to Reuters.

The conglomerate stated that the CMA did not succeed in examining the offer to secure Giphy, who during that period, has maintained to deliver services to rivals, including Snapchat and TikTok, following the same terms.

Meta then proceeded to direct its attention towards the regulator’s decision, saying it was ritualistically faulty.