Rome, July 30 (LaPresse) – The Italian Competition Authority, acting in close cooperation with the relevant offices of the European Commission, has launched an investigation into Meta Platforms Inc., Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, WhatsApp Ireland Limited, and Facebook Italy S.r.l. — collectively referred to as Meta — for alleged abuse of dominant position in violation of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
Meta, which holds a dominant position in the app-based communications services market, has since March 2025 begun pre-installing its artificial intelligence service, Meta AI, within the WhatsApp app without users’ prior consent. Moreover, Meta AI has been placed in a prominent position on the screen and integrated into the search bar.
Meta AI falls under the category of chatbot or AI assistant services that, using artificial intelligence technologies, respond to general questions and allow interactions similar to those of virtual assistants. By linking Meta AI with WhatsApp, Meta appears to leverage its user base to enter a new market not through merit-based competition but by “forcing” users to adopt two separate services — potentially harming competing offerings.
According to the Authority, there is a risk that users may become “locked in” or functionally dependent on Meta AI, especially as the service, over time, would use gathered information to provide increasingly useful and relevant responses.