Key takeaways European Commission opens formal antitrust investigation into Meta's integration of an AI assistant into the WhatsApp messaging platform. EU competition chief Teresa Ribera warns of pote...
EU competition commissioner Teresa Ribera confirmed the probe on Thursday, December 4, 2024, stating that regulators will examine whether Meta's rollout of its Meta AI assistant violates competition rules.
The investigation comes amid growing scrutiny of how major technology companies deploy AI tools across platforms with billions of users.
"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," Ribera said in a statement.
"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."
Meta rolled out its Meta AI chatbot and virtual assistant across European markets in March 2025, building the tool directly into WhatsApp's interface.
The feature allows users to access AI-powered assistance for questions, recommendations, and conversation support through a blue circle icon in the app.
The European launch came nearly a year after Meta AI debuted in the United States, with the company acknowledging delays due to navigating Europe's "complex regulatory system."
Meta made the assistant available across all 27 EU member states, plus 14 additional European countries, including Iceland, Norway, Serbia, and Switzerland.
Unlike some AI features that can be disabled, the Meta AI integration is mandatory for WhatsApp users and cannot be turned off through app settings.
The EU probe builds on an ongoing investigation by Italy's competition authority, which opened its initial inquiry in July 2025.
Italian regulators accused Meta of potentially abusing its dominant position in the app-based communication services market by integrating AI tools into WhatsApp without user consent.
In November, Italy's antitrust watchdog expanded its investigation after Meta updated WhatsApp Business Solution terms on October 15 to prohibit companies from offering AI services on the platform if those services constitute their main feature.
The Italian authority warned these changes could restrict market access for competing AI chatbots and limit technical development in the rapidly growing AI sector.
Italian officials expressed particular concern about "lock-in effects" where WhatsApp's 37 million Italian users could become dependent on Meta AI, making it difficult for rival services to compete.
The European Union's generative AI market was estimated at $4.4 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow to $7.3 billion in 2025.
Meta responded to the investigations by declining to comment specifically on the EU probe and referring to its previous statement on the Italian inquiry, which it called "unfounded."
A company spokesperson told Reuters that Meta has not received formal details of the Brussels investigation.
The spokesperson defended the WhatsApp Business platform update, stating: "The recent update does not affect the tens of thousands of businesses who provide customer support and send relevant updates, or the businesses using the AI assistant of their choice to chat with their customers."
The investigation will proceed under traditional EU antitrust rules rather than the Digital Markets Act, the bloc's comprehensive tech regulation framework currently applied to other major technology companies' services.
If Meta is found to have violated EU competition rules, the company could face fines of up to 10% of its global annual revenue.
The European Commission is expected to formally announce the investigation in the coming days, though the timing could shift.
Meta's integration of AI across its family of apps, including Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger, continues as the company competes in the intensifying race to deploy generative AI technologies.
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