However, the tribunal maintained the CMA's ruling on five of the six grounds for appeal, declaring that it had 'no hesitation' in coming to the conclusion that the regulator's determination that the merger severely decreased dynamic competition was legal. Therefore, no one should be shocked by the news today.

The CMA stated that its independent panel spent the previous three months examining new submissions from Meta and Giphy as well as additional third-party material before reaching its judgement. According to the analysis, Meta might strengthen its already sizable market position by:

• Changing the terms of access, such as requiring Giphy customers like TikTok, Twitter, and Snapchat to provide more data from U.K. users in order to access Giphy GIFs, which would force users to Meta-owned sites, which already account for 73% of user time spent on social media in the U.K.

Stuart McIntosh, the head of the independent inquiry committee conducting the remittal investigation, noted in a statement:

• In two markets, this agreement would drastically lessen competition. It has already eliminated a potential rival in the UK display ad industry while also enabling Meta to further expand its sizable market share in social media.

The sale of Giphy is the only option to address this. This will encourage new ideas in digital advertising and guarantee that UK social media users will always have access to Giphy. The CMA initially ordered Meta to unwind the acquisition of Giphy back in November 2021, almost a year after Meta had actually finished the transaction to buy Giphy in May 2020 for an alleged $400 million. When contacted for comment, Meta acknowledged that it would not be appealing the ruling.

A spokeswoman issued a statement via email that read, 'We are disappointed by the CMA's judgement but accept today's ruling as the final word on the matter.' 'On divesting Giphy, we will cooperate closely with the CMA. During this uncertain period for their company, the Giphy crew has our gratitude and best wishes.'