WhatsApp faces European antitrust investigation over artificial intelligence

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LONDON (AP) — WhatsApp faces an antitrust investigation in the European Union, where regulators said Thursday that they're looking into the messaging service's artificial intelligence policy.

The European Commission said it opened the formal investigation because of concerns about WhatsApp's move to limit access for third-party AI providers.

WhatsApp, owned by Facebook parent Meta Platforms, rolled out its AI chatbot feature for European Union users in March after delays.

The Commission, which is the bloc's executive arm, said a recent policy update could mean that rival AI companies are blocked from offering their AI assistants on the platform, while Meta's chatbot service remains accessible to users. Regulators are scrutinizing new terms and conditions for business customers, who can use AI assistants to communicate with customers over WhatsApp.

Teresa Ribera, the commission's vice president overseeing competition affairs, said the bloc wants to prevent Big Tech companies from boxing 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,” she said in a press statement.

The Commission's “claims are baseless,” WhatsApp said in a statement. ”The emergence of AI chatbots on our Business API puts a strain on our systems that they were not designed to support."

"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,” the company said.

The investigation will cover all of the EU's 27 countries except for Italy, where authorities have already opened their own separate probe.