Brussels is preparing to launch a fresh antitrust investigation into Meta Platforms over its integration of artificial intelligence tools within WhatsApp, a move signalling heightened European scrutiny of Big Tech’s rapidly expanding use of generative AI. According to a source who spoke to Reuters, the European Commission could open the probe as early as Thursday, marking the latest regulatory push as the bloc works to balance technological innovation with consumer protection and market fairness.
The investigation will focus on how Meta embedded its Meta AI system into WhatsApp earlier this year, examining whether the rollout complied with competition rules. While the Commission has declined to comment, the impending action aligns with broader efforts by EU authorities to curtail market dominance among major technology firms. The inquiry follows similar moves targeting other AI-driven services as concerns grow about transparency, data usage and system integrity.
Meta has strongly rejected the allegations, with a WhatsApp spokesperson describing the claims as baseless and arguing that the arrival of chatbots on the platform is placing unexpected strain on systems not originally designed to handle such features. As regulatory tensions rise, a critical question now looms: can Europe’s latest challenge to Meta meaningfully reshape how Big Tech deploys AI across its most widely used platforms?
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