Facebook-Giphy deal set to be blocked by UK regulator

The United Kingdom’s competition regulator is expected to block Facebook’s acquisition of online GIF platform Giphy in the upcoming days in an escalation of the watchdog’s assault on Big Tech, the Financial Times reported.

The Competition and Markets Authority is set to reverse the Facebook-Giphy deal in what would be the first time the watchdog has reversed a Big Tech acquisition, the report said, citing individuals close to the matter.

Meta Platforms Inc., the parent entity of Facebook, and the British regulator did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters sent outside working hours.

The regulator had in October fined the US social media giant £50.5 million for breaching an order that was imposed during an investigation into its purchase of the GIF platform, Giphy.

Facebook bought Giphy, a website for making and sharing animated images, or GIFs, in May last year to integrate it with its photo-sharing app, Instagram. The deal was then pegged at $400 million by Axios.