Background information
Following a request for examination by the AFCA and Federal Cartel Prosecutor, the Cartel Court examined Meta’s acquisition of Giphy. Giphy operates a searchable GIF library whose GIFs and stickers are embedded in numerous social media platforms. The Cartel Court found that the merger would strengthen Meta’s dominant position in social media and online advertising and therefore made its approval of the merger subject to conditions (§ 12 para. 3 of the Austrian Federal Cartel Act).
For more information about this case and decision, please refer to AFCA’s press release of 4 March 2022.
Supreme Cartel Court confirms first-instance decision
On 3 March 2022, both the AFCA and Federal Cartel Prosecutor had filed an appeal against the first-instance decision with the Supreme Court of Justice sitting as the Supreme Cartel Court, asking for a review of various legal questions.
On 23 June 2022, the Supreme Cartel Court confirmed the Cartel Court’s conditional clearance, dismissing the appeal.
Supreme Cartel Court ruling
The Supreme Cartel Court ruling will be published in Austria’s Legal Information System (RIS).
In a parallel case in the UK, the Competition Appeal Tribunal has recently confirmed a related decision by the Competition and Markets Authority, see the Competition Appeal Tribunal website.