Britain fines Facebook $70 mn for breaching order in Giphy deal

Britain’s competition regulator has fined Facebook 50.5 million pounds ($69.6 million) for breaching an order imposed during its investigation into the U.S. social media giant’s purchase of GIF platform Giphy, the agency said on Wednesday.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said Facebook had deliberately failed to comply with its order, and the penalty served as a warning that no company was above the law.

Facebook has increasingly come under fire from regulators and lawmakers about its business practices.

It said it strongly disagreed with the CMA.

The regulator said Facebook had failed to provide full updates about its compliance with requirements to continue to compete with Giphy and not integrate its operations with Giphy’s while its investigation was ongoing.