Facebook Slapped With A $69 Million Fine By UK Competition Watchdog

Social media giant Facebook has received $69 million from the UK competition regulator after the company made a deliberate breach.

UK Fines Facebook $69 Million

Social media giant Facebook has been fined £50.5 million ($69 million) by the United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority. Facebook was fined for breaching an order imposed by the competition.

The regulatory agency announced this latest development earlier today, stating that Facebook deliberately breached some regulations as the investigation into its takeover of gif-sharing platform Giphy continues.

The Competition and Markets Authority issued an initial enforcement order in June 202 when it began investigations into Facebook’s acquisition of Giphy. The enforcement order was put in place to ensure that companies continue to compete in a normal fashion in the absence of a merger while it also prevents them from integrating further.

The regulator said this is the first time a company has been discovered to deliberately breach an IEO by refusing to report all the necessary information. “Given the multiple warnings it gave Facebook, the CMA considers that Facebook’s failure to comply was deliberate. As a result, the CMA has issued a fine of £50 million for this major breach, which fundamentally undermined its ability to prevent, monitor and put right any issues,” the regulator added.

FB Up By 0.5% As It Prepares For Its Novi Wallet Launch

The shares of Facebook are up by more than 0.5% since the US market opened despite the fine by the UK regulatory agency. At the time of writing, FB is trading at $341 per share. It is also one of the best-performing tech stocks this year, after rising by more than 25% since the start of 2021.

The rally comes at a time when Facebook is preparing to launch its Novi digital wallet. The Facebook-backed Diem project has chosen Coinbase as its custody partner, with the project set to pilot after a two-year delay.