Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is selling off its embedded platform for sharing looped animated videos, Giphy, as a result of an antitrust lawsuit. Stock image site Shutterstock will acquire Giphy for $53 million in cash, with the deal expected to close next month.
Meta had originally acquired Giphy in 2020 for a much higher price of $400 million. However, the acquisition faced scrutiny from Britain’s competition regulator, which raised concerns about potential antitrust issues. The regulator pointed out that the deal could give Meta an unfair advantage by restricting access to Giphy’s content for other social media platforms or requiring them to share more user data with Meta in exchange for using Giphy’s gifs.
To address these concerns, Meta and Giphy signed an API agreement that allows Meta to continue using Giphy’s content on its platform.
This sale marks the first instance of Meta facing antitrust implications as a major tech giant. As one of the largest social media platforms globally, owning Instagram and WhatsApp, Meta has expanded into various sectors such as e-commerce, dating, and advertising.
For Shutterstock, the acquisition of Giphy presents significant opportunities. Known primarily for licensing stock photos, Shutterstock has recently ventured into generative AI through its partnership with OpenAI. By gaining access to Giphy, which is widely embedded in platforms like Slack, smartphones, and social media websites, Shutterstock can gather valuable insights into user queries and preferences for finding the right gifs. This knowledge can inform their generative AI efforts in creating customized stock images for specific use cases.
The deal between Shutterstock and Meta’s Giphy sale has broader implications for both companies and the evolving landscape of digital content creation and distribution.
