Social media giant Facebook has been fined £50.5m for failing to prove it was complying with the competition regulator during a probe into the firm’s takeover of GIF sharing platform Giphy.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) started the investigation into the £290m deal in June last year over concerns about a “substantial lessening of competition”.
Giphy’s user-uploaded library of animated images is already integrated and used widely by Facebook’s family of social media apps but can also be used on other platforms such as Twitter.
As part of the investigation, the social network was ordered to keep the two businesses separate until a conclusion was reached under an initial enforcement order (IEO), meaning Giphy should have been allowed to compete as an individual entity.
The CMA said Facebook “deliberately” refused to supply information proving that it was complying with the IEO.
Separately, the CMA has fined Facebook £500,000 for changing its chief compliance officer on two separate occasions without seeking consent.
“We warned Facebook that its refusal to provide us with important information was a breach of the order but, even after losing its appeal in two separate courts, Facebook continued to disregard its legal obligations,” said CMA senior director of mergers Joel Bamford.
“This should serve as a warning to any company that thinks it is above the law.”
