UK orders Meta to sell Giphy

 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said in a statement that Giphy must be "sold off in its entirety", having already ruled last year that the acquisition would hit competition and advertising.

The CMA has concluded the only way to avoid the significant impact the deal would have on competition is for Giphy to be sold off in its entirety to an approved buyer," it said in a final verdict.

Giphy is a platform and search engine for "stickers" and other products using the graphics interchange format, or GIFs.

Meta had announced the purchase for a reported $400 million in May 2020.

"This deal would significantly reduce competition in two markets," added Stuart McIntosh, chair of the CMA's inquiry group, in the statement.

"It has already resulted in the removal of a potential challenger in the UK display ad market, while also giving Meta the ability to further increase its substantial market power in social media.

McIntosh said that the sale would promote "innovation in digital advertising, and also ensure UK social media users continue to benefit from access to Giphy."

In response, Meta expressed disappointment but said it would "accept today's ruling as the final word on the matter