Facebook questions British watchdog's authority to order Giphy sale

FILE PHOTO: People are silhouetted as they pose with laptops in front of a screen projected with a Facebook logo, in this picture illustration taken in Zenica October 29, 2014. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

(Reuters) - Facebook has made a case for not selling Giphy in a strongly worded response to Britain's competition regulator, and the tech firm questioned the watchdog's call for divesting the GIF website over access and anti-competitive concerns.

Facebook argued that "the inability of the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) to issue any order against Giphy raises serious questions as to the enforceability of any divestment order and whether any such order could be effective," in a letter published by the CMA on Wednesday.