Brussels: The European Union said on Thursday that it had launched an antitrust investigation to determine whether Meta’s rollout of AI features in WhatsApp violates the bloc’s competition rules.

The move marks the latest effort by the 27-member EU to regulate Big Tech, despite strong resistance from the administration of US President Donald Trump. The probe is being carried out under the EU’s antitrust rules rather than its reinforced digital laws, which Trump has claimed unfairly target American companies and over which he has threatened retaliation.

The European Commission said it was concerned that a recently announced Meta policy “may prevent third party AI providers from offering their services through WhatsApp”. WhatsApp dismissed the concerns as “baseless”.

EU competition chief Teresa Ribera said the bloc must “act to prevent dominant digital incumbents from abusing their power to crowd out innovative competitors”.

“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 said in a statement.

What is the EU concerned about?

According to the EU, the Meta policy announced in October would block rival AI providers from using a tool in the business version of WhatsApp that allows them to reach customers directly. The restriction applies “when AI is the primary service offered” including AI chatbots or assistants. However, companies may still use AI tools for support functions such as customer support.

The commission said that “as a result of the new policy, competing AI providers may be blocked from reaching their customers through WhatsApp”.

It added that “on the other hand, Meta's own AI service ‘Meta AI’ would remain accessible to users on the platform”.

How has WhatsApp responded?

WhatsApp rejected the argument that its policy could hinder competition.

“The claims are baseless,” a spokesperson said. “The emergence of AI chatbots on our Business API puts a strain on our systems that they were not designed to support.”

The spokesperson added: “Even still, the AI space is highly competitive and people have access to the services of their choice in any number of ways, including app stores, search engines, email services, partnership integrations, and operating systems.”

Which countries are covered in the probe?

The investigation covers the European Economic Area, which includes the EU’s 27 member states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, with the exception of Italy. Italy launched its own separate probe into Meta in July.

The Italian antitrust authority previously stated that by merging Meta AI with WhatsApp, the company may be forcing the use of its AI services on users and funnelling its customer base into the emerging AI market.

There is no legal deadline for completing an antitrust investigation.

What other cases does Meta face in the EU?

Meta is also at risk of substantial fines under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which governs online content. One DSA case alleges that Meta does not provide adequate access to public data for researchers, while another concerns claims that Facebook and Instagram fail to offer user-friendly tools for flagging illegal content or appealing moderation decisions.

EU authorities are additionally examining whether Facebook and Instagram are doing enough to address concerns about their platforms’ addictive impact on children.

Meta has also appealed against a 200 million euro fine issued this year under the Digital Markets Act competition law over its policy requiring users to choose between an ad-free subscription and a free, ad-supported service.

AP inputs