Meta, the company that owns Facebook that recently underwent a rebranding, announced that it will appeal the British government’s decision that forced it to sell the Giphy. The animated image platform was acquired by Meta in May 2020 and is used in the company’s products, such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram.

Meta says that the evidence presented not enough to ensure that ownership of the Giphy platform poses a threat to its competitors. The company also points out that the process does not make it clear how the acquisition could impact free competition in the graphic advertising sector.

According to an unnamed Meta spokesperson, in an interview with the agency Reuters, “the decision to block the deal is wrong in law and in fact, and the evidence does not support the CMA’s findings or appeals.”

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The Giphy platform was acquired by Meta (then called Facebook) in May 2020Source: Disclosure/Giphy

In November, the Competition and Markets Authorithy (CMA), the British body that oversees the competition environment between companies in the country, published the report resulting from the investigation of the purchase of Giphy by Meta. According to the agency, the acquisition could cause other social networks not belonging to the group to lose access to GIFs. The decision was that Meta should resell to Giphy.

Giphy was acquired by then Facebook in May 2020, and was integrated with the company’s products, such as Instagram and WhatsApp. The purpose of the acquisition is to facilitate the sharing of GIFs and stickers on social media.