Crystal Dike
The European Union on Thursday announced the launch of a formal antitrust investigation into Meta over the rollout of artificial intelligence (AI) features on WhatsApp, to determine whether the move breaches the bloc’s competition rules.
The probe marks the latest crackdown by the 27-nation EU on Big Tech firms, despite strong opposition from the administration of US President Donald Trump, which has accused the bloc of unfairly targeting American companies.
Unlike earlier actions brought under the EU’s newly strengthened digital laws, the investigation will proceed under traditional antitrust rules. The European Commission said it is concerned that a new Meta policy announced in October 2024 could prevent third-party AI providers from offering their services through WhatsApp’s business platform.
“Meta’s new policy may illegally restrict competition and crowd out innovative rivals in the AI market,” EU competition chief Teresa Ribera said in a statement. “We must act to prevent dominant digital players from abusing their power to the detriment of competition.”
According to the Commission, the policy would bar rival AI providers from using a key tool in WhatsApp Business to directly engage customers when AI is the primary service offered, such as chatbots or virtual assistants. However, companies may still deploy AI for support functions like customer service.
“As a result, competing AI providers may be blocked from reaching customers through WhatsApp, while Meta’s own ‘Meta AI’ service remains fully accessible,” the Commission said.
Meta, however, dismissed the allegations.
“The claims are baseless,” a WhatsApp spokesperson said. “The surge in AI chatbots using our Business API places significant strain on systems that were not designed to support such usage. The AI market remains highly competitive, and users can access services through multiple platforms.”
The investigation covers the European Economic Area (EEA), made up of the EU’s 27 member states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Italy is excluded, having opened a separate probe into Meta in July 2024.
Italy’s competition authority is examining whether the integration of Meta AI into WhatsApp forces users to adopt Meta’s AI services while funnelling its vast user base into the emerging AI market.
The EU noted that there is no legal deadline for concluding antitrust investigations.
Meta is already facing other enforcement actions in the bloc. Under the Digital Services Act (DSA), the company risks heavy fines over allegations that it limited researchers’ access to public data and failed to provide user-friendly tools for reporting illegal content on Facebook and Instagram.
EU regulators are also probing whether both platforms are doing enough to curb addictive features for children.
Separately, Meta has appealed a €200 million fine imposed earlier in 2025 under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) over its “pay or consent” policy that requires users to choose between an ad-free subscription and a free, ad-supported service.