Dec. 4 (UPI) — The European Union has hit tech giant Meta with an antitrust investigation over its alleged use of AI tools on its WhatsApp messaging platform.
An investigation by the European Commission on Thursday will examine whether new meta-policies allowing AI providers to access apps could violate European Union competition regulations.
“We must act to ensure European citizens and businesses can fully benefit from this technological revolution, and to prevent dominant digital incumbents from abusing their power to exclude innovative competitors,” said Teresa Rivera, the EU’s competition commissioner.
A WhatsApp spokesperson called the claims “baseless,” adding that the application programming interface is not capable of supporting AI chatbots and “puts a strain on our systems.”
“The AI space is highly competitive, and people have a variety of ways to access their preferred services, including app stores, search engines, email services, partnership integrations, and operating systems,” the Meta-owned company told CNBC.
In October, Meta announced new rules that would prohibit AI providers from using the ability for businesses to contact customers through WhatsApp if artificial intelligence is their primary function.
European officials were concerned that Meta’s policies could “preclude third-party AI providers from offering services through WhatsApp in the European Economic Area.”
The action was announced after the European Commission fined Google more than $3 billion for antitrust violations in digital advertising.
In October, the European Union accused Meta and TikTok of violating transparency rules in the EU’s digital services law.
The EU investigation will cover the entire European Economic Area, excluding Italy, to avoid duplication with another meta-related investigation into the business conduct of Mark Zuckerberg’s company.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump warned European allies not to “let discriminatory practices stand by” amid threats of increased tariffs on US tech companies and other regulatory measures.
