8) Shifting Standards for Big Tech Acquisition Reviews

While blocking acquisitions has been a priority for Big Tech critics for years, clear evidence of changing standards really did not emerge until 2021. In 2020, Google’s FitBit acquisition was signed off by the EU playing the role of lead reviewer and the deal closed despite strong opposition from consumer and privacy advocates, but the mixed reactions by other national regulators was a sign of things to come. The top 2021 story was Facebook’s purchase of GIF platform Giphy, and the strong opposition of the UK’s  Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), who eventually ordered Facebook to unwind the deal. Paired with another Facebook acquisition, of customer relationship software firm Kustomer, the shifting sands of acquisition policy comes into more focus. Both are relatively small, not profitable, US-based startups. Neither have any physical operations in Europe. The EU signed off on Giphy but not Kustomer. The UK CMA was the opposite, illustrating the potential for multi-jurisdiction Good Cop – Bad Cop scenarios when regulators claim jurisdiction because Internet users are everywhere and, theoretically, even small digital platforms could grow into large competitors someday.