Key Points
- Italy’s antitrust authority is investigating Meta Platforms. The probe focuses on Meta pre-installing its AI assistant into WhatsApp.
- Regulators believe this is an abuse of Meta’s dominant market position.
- A key part of the complaint is that the AI was added without user consent.
- The move could unfairly harm competing AI services and lock users into Meta’s ecosystem.
Italy’s antitrust watchdog has launched an investigation into Meta Platforms, accusing the tech giant of abusing its dominant market position by automatically adding its AI assistant to the WhatsApp messaging service.
The regulator is concerned that Meta may have violated European Union competition rules by pre-installing its “Meta AI” tool into WhatsApp without getting user consent. This move, the authority argues, could unfairly push WhatsApp’s massive user base toward Meta’s own AI services, harming competitors and making it harder for users to switch to
other platforms.
According to the watchdog, the Meta AI tool has been a part of WhatsApp’s interface since March 2025, appearing directly in the app’s search bar.
By integrating the chatbot-style assistant by default, Meta could be giving itself an unfair advantage in the growing AI market. Italian representatives for Meta were not immediately available for comment on the investigation.
