The European Commission has launched an anti-trust probe into Meta Platforms targeting the company’s rollout of new artificial-intelligence (AI) tools inside WhatsApp.
The EC said yesterday it was “concerned” that Meta’s updated policy, which was implemented in October, could block outside AI developers from offering their services on the messaging platform.
It believes that might give the US tech giant an unfair advantage.
“AI markets are booming in Europe and beyond. We must ensure European citizens and businesses can benefit fully of this technological revolution and act to prevent dominant digital incumbents from abusing their power to crowd out innovative competitors,” said Competition Commissioner Teresa Ribera.
“This is why we are investigating if Meta’s new policy might be illegal under competition rules, and whether we should act quickly to prevent any possible irreparable harm to competition in the AI space,” she added.
Meta, for its part, dismissed the accusations.
A WhatsApp spokesperson labelled the EC’s claims as “baseless”, arguing that the proliferation of third-party chatbots places heavy pressure on infrastructure “not designed to support” such systems.
The move against the company marks the latest move by the European Union to rein in US Big Tech.
US President Donald Trump and his administration have been pushing back on EU legislation, in November accusing the bloc of “regulatory imperialism”.
