Britain’s competition regulator has fined Facebook 50.5 million pounds ($69.6 million) for breaching an order imposed during its investigation into the American 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, Reuters reported from London and Bengaluru.
Facebook, which has increasingly come under fire from global regulators and lawmakers about its business practices, 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.
Facebook had not provided the required information, despite multiple warnings, the CMA said, and it considered its failure to comply deliberate.
“We warned Facebook that its refusal to provide us with important information was a breach of the order but, even after losing its appeal in two separate courts, Facebook continued to disregard its legal obligations,” said Joel Bamford, senior director of mergers at the CMA.
Bamford’s words echo those of US Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda on Tuesday after Facebook agreed to pay up to $14.25 million to settle civil claims over its adherence to recruitment rules.