In late 2021, we reported that the United Kingdom may force Facebook to sell its GIF platform, Giphy. Facebook, which we will refer to as Meta, purchased Giphy for 400 million dollars. Just under two years later, the United Kingdom made good on its threat.
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Meta has been forced to sell the Giphy platform for a mere 53 million dollars marking a massive loss for the company. The UK government has a branch known as the Competition and Markets Authority, which ensures that one company doesn’t have a distinct advantage over others. That body determined that Meta’s ownership of the GIF platform might hurt the display advertising market.
While Meta may be selling the platform, its social media apps, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, will still be using Giphy for its GIFs. The company taking over the GIF platform is Shutterstock, and it says the purchase will boost its stake in “casual conversations” by adding GIFs and stickers to its catalog.
This is a big win for Shutterstock and a significant loss for Meta. It will be interesting to see how Shutterstock uses the platform and if it opens the service up to other social media platforms that use lesser-known GIF services. If you want to read more about this story, Engadget has more info on the impact the purchase may have on Shutterstock.
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