Italy’s Antitrust Watchdog Investigates Meta Over WhatsApp AI Integration
Italy’s antitrust authority, AGCM, has launched a probe into Meta for allegedly exploiting its market dominance by forcing WhatsApp users to accept its AI assistant, Meta AI, without meaningful choice or clear consent. The regulator claims this automatic integration, active since March 2025, may violate EU competition laws by coercing users into Meta’s AI ecosystem and stifling smaller competitors.
The AGCM warns that Meta’s strategy resembles 'tying'—leveraging WhatsApp’s popularity to boost adoption of Meta AI. This could distort competition in the AI assistant market, leaving rivals at a disadvantage against Big Tech’s vast user base and resources.