The EU launches antitrust investigation into Meta's WhatsApp AI features

EU regulators have launched an antitrust investigation into WhatsApp, a subsidiary of Meta (META.US), for adding AI features, which may temporarily halt the rollout of these features due to concerns that the new functionality could restrict access for other AI providers, giving Meta's AI system an unfair competitive advantage.

EU antitrust commissioner Teresa Ribera stated that the investigation aims to prevent market-dominating companies from abusing their power and sidelining innovative competitors. The EU may take temporary measures to stop WhatsApp from launching AI features.

A WhatsApp spokesperson stated that the claims are unfounded, as the presence of chatbots on its platform would actually put pressure on AI systems