The European Union has opened an antitrust investigation into Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, to determine whether its new AI features violate the bloc’s competition rules.
The announcement was made on Thursday by the European Commission, signaling the EU’s continued scrutiny of Big Tech firms.
The investigation focuses on a recently introduced Meta policy that could block third-party AI providers from offering services directly through WhatsApp’s business platform.
Under the policy, rival AI tools may be restricted when AI is the primary service offered, though AI used for customer support functions remains unaffected. Meanwhile, Meta’s own AI service, “Meta AI,” continues to be available to users.
EU competition chief Teresa Ribera said the bloc has a duty to prevent dominant digital companies from abusing their power and limiting market competition. “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,” Ribera stated.
Meta, however, dismissed the EU’s concerns as “baseless,” arguing that the integration of AI chatbots into its Business API strains systems not designed to support such services.
A spokesperson added that the AI sector remains competitive, with users having multiple avenues to access similar services.
The EU probe covers the European Economic Area, including 27 EU states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. Italy, which opened its own separate investigation into Meta in July, is examining whether Meta’s merging of WhatsApp with its AI services unfairly channels users toward its own products.
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This antitrust inquiry adds to a growing list of regulatory challenges facing Meta in Europe. The company is already under investigation for potential violations of the Digital Services Act, including restrictions on researcher access to public data, inadequate content-moderation practices, and concerns over the impact of its platforms on children.
Additionally, Meta is appealing a €200 million fine under the Digital Markets Act over its subscription policy that forces users to choose between ad-supported and ad-free options.
The EU has not set a legal deadline for concluding the investigation.