KEEP CALM AND SELL

The United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority advised Facebook’s parent company on Tuesday to sell Giphy, a platform that allows users to share GIFs.

The antitrust watchdog reportedly argued that the acquisition deal between Meta and Giphy could harm social media users and U.K. advertisers by suppressing competition for animated images on the Facebook platform.

“By requiring Facebook to sell Giphy, we are protecting millions of social media users and promoting competition and innovation in digital advertising,” Stuart McIntosh, chair of the group that carried out the investigation, told The Associated Press.

According to CNBC, the group also found that if Facebook were able to limit other social platforms’ use of Giphy’s images, it would “increase its already significant market power.”