The Italian Antitrust Authority (AGCM) has launched an investigation into Meta regarding the use of an artificial intelligence feature in the WhatsApp messenger, writes UNN with reference to Euractiv.
Details
The authority suspects that Meta abused its dominant position in the messaging market by installing an artificial intelligence feature without prior user consent.
On Tuesday, police officers searched Meta's Italian subsidiary with the assistance of antitrust specialists from the Italian Financial Police, according to an AGCM press release.
A European Commission representative stated that the Directorate-General for Competition is closely cooperating with the Italian antitrust authorities during the investigation.
A Meta spokesperson said the company is "fully cooperating with the Italian antitrust authority," according to an email statement sent to Euractiv.
"Offering free access to our AI features in WhatsApp gives millions of Italians the opportunity to use AI in a place they are already familiar with," the company representative added.
Addition
Meta claims that the AI option is a completely optional service. However, Italian antitrust authorities stated in their statement that since March 2025, Meta AI has been installing its AI services, "integrating them with WhatsApp without prior user request."
The AI service has already come under scrutiny in several European countries.
Meta delayed the launch of its AI service after the Irish data protection authority raised issues related to data use.
The Hamburg data protection supervisory authority also began an investigation into Meta's use of user data, but closed the case in May.