Italy Investigating Meta Over WhatsApp AI Chatbot

The Italian competition watchdog started an investigation into Meta Platforms adding AI services to WhatsApp without user consent. The body cited concerns that the move may be in breach of EU rules.

The Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM) explained Meta’s decision to install the chatbot and AI assistant service earlier this year could constitute an abuse of its dominant position in the consumer communications apps market. It noted that, along with adding Meta AI to WhatsApp without any prior request from users, it was placed in a prominent position on the screen and had been integrated into the search bar.

“By combining Meta AI with WhatsApp, Meta appears capable of channelling its customer base into the emerging market, not through merit-based competition, but by ‘imposing’ the availability of the two distinct services upon users, potentially harming competitors,” the authority stated. It went on to cite a risk users may be locked-in or functionally dependent on the AI service partly because“by using the information provided over time, it appears that the responses generated by the service become increasingly useful and relevant.

AGCM’s investigation is conducted in cooperation with European Commission departments. As part of the investigation, the Italian authority inspected the offices of the company’s Italian subsidiary alongside a specialist department of the financial police. The probe covers Meta Platforms and its subsidiaries in Italy and the Republic of Ireland.