LONDON — WhatsApp faces an antitrust probe in the European Union, where regulators said Thursday they were looking into the messaging service's artificial intelligence policies.
The European Commission said it had launched a formal investigation over concerns over WhatsApp's decision to restrict access to third-party artificial intelligence providers.
WhatsApp, owned by Facebook parent company Meta Platforms, rolled out its AI chatbot feature to European Union users in March after delays.
The commission, which is the bloc's executive arm, said the recent policy update could mean rival AI companies will be prohibited from offering their AI assistants on the platform, while Meta's chatbot service will remain available to users.
Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Teresa Ribera, the commission's vice-president for competition, said the bloc wants to stop big tech companies from crowding out innovative rivals.
“That’s why we are investigating whether Meta’s new policy may be illegal under competition rules, and whether we must act quickly to prevent any possible irreparable harm to competition in the AI field,” she said in a press statement.
The investigation will cover all 27 EU countries, with the exception of Italy, whose authorities have already launched their own separate investigation.
