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Italy Investigates Meta for Alleged Antitrust Abuse on WhatsApp
30 Jul
Summary
- Italian antitrust authority launches probe into Meta
- Allegations of abusing dominant position by pre-installing Meta AI on WhatsApp
- Meta AI integrated into WhatsApp since March 2025
The Italian antitrust authority has initiated an investigation into Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, over allegations that it has abused its dominant market position. The authority claims that Meta has integrated its Meta AI assistant into the WhatsApp messaging service since March 2025, without obtaining user consent.
The regulator argues that this inclusion of Meta's AI tool within WhatsApp's interface, including the app's search bar, could unfairly influence users to utilize Meta's AI services, potentially harming competitors and locking users into the Meta platform. The authority believes this may have violated European Union competition rules.
Meta has not yet responded to the allegations. The ongoing investigation by the Italian watchdog aims to determine whether the tech giant's actions have indeed constituted an abuse of its dominant market position.
