The UK Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) has today announced a £50.5 million fine against Facebook.
The fine is in relation to breach of an interim enforcement order (“IEO”) imposed on the company at the start of the CMA’s merger investigation into its purchase of Giphy, in June 2020.
The IEO required Facebook to give the CMA regular updates on its compliance with the IEO. The CMA considers that Facebook failed to comply with the update requirements in the IEO by refusing to report all the required information. Moreover, the CMA has indicated that it considers this was a deliberate failure to comply, and has therefore imposed a £50 million fine for the breach.
In addition, the CMA has decided to fine the social media company £0.5 million for twice changing its Chief Compliance Officer without seeking the CMA’s consent.
More detail can be found in the CMA’s press release.
Please contact Tim Cowen if you have any questions about the Facebook fine, or the UK merger control regime more generally.