CMA to look into Facebook's purchase of gif search engine

Watchdog fears that social media giant's takeover of Giphy may reduce competition

The UK's competition regulator has opened an investigation into the proposed $400m (320m) takeover of gif search engine Giphy by Facebook amid fears that the acquisition may reduce competition in the UK.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is inviting comments about Facebook's purchase of a company that currently provides gif search across many of the social network's competitors, including Twitter and the messaging service Signal.