①The European Union announced a full-scale antitrust investigation into Meta, citing that the artificial intelligence (AI) features introduced by the company in WhatsApp could potentially harm competition; ②In March this year, Meta integrated a chatbot and virtual assistant called Meta AI into WhatsApp and launched it in the European market.
Cailian Press reported on December 4th (edited by Xia Junxiong) – On Thursday (December 4th), the European Union announced the launch of $Meta Platforms (META.US)$ a comprehensive antitrust investigation into Meta, as the AI functionalities introduced in WhatsApp may undermine competition.
In March this year, Meta integrated a chatbot and virtual assistant named Meta AI into WhatsApp and launched it in the European market.
The European Commission stated that they are concerned about WhatsApp's rollout of AI features and noted that Meta might prevent competitors from offering AI services through WhatsApp.
Theresa Ribera, the EU’s antitrust chief, stated in a declaration on Thursday: “We must ensure that European citizens and businesses can fully benefit from this technological revolution and take action to prevent dominant digital giants from abusing their power to stifle innovative competitors.”
A WhatsApp spokesperson responded that these allegations are unfounded and added that the presence of chatbots on their platform “has put pressure on our systems, which were not designed to support such stress.”
“Nevertheless, the AI field is highly competitive, and users can access the services they desire through various means, including app stores, search engines, email services, collaborative integrations, and operating systems,” the WhatsApp spokesperson said.
Meta must now propose solutions to address the concerns raised by regulators.
If found in violation of EU antitrust regulations, the maximum fine could reach 10% of the company’s global annual revenue, though it typically does not reach this cap, especially when the alleged misconduct has occurred over a relatively short period.
Notably, Italy's regulatory authority also launched an investigation in July this year into Meta's introduction of AI features in WhatsApp and expanded the scope of the investigation in November. The Italian regulator accused Meta of abusing its dominant market position in the chatbot services sector.
The European Commission stated that the initiation of a formal investigation does not presuppose the final outcome. The EU also noted that to avoid overlap with ongoing proceedings in Italy, which may impose interim measures on Meta, its own investigation will exclude Italy.
As a leading player in the social media domain, Meta has been fined multiple times by the EU.
In April this year, Meta was fined €200 million (US$234 million) for allegedly violating the Digital Markets Act; in November 2024, Meta was fined €798 million for tying Facebook Marketplace to its social network, deemed an abuse of its dominant market position.
Editor/jayden
