Italy launches investigation into Meta over abuse of dominant position

The Italian Competition Authority, acting in close cooperation with the competent departments of the European Commission, has decided to launch an investigation into Meta Platforms (META) Inc., Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, WhatsApp Ireland Limited and Facebook Italy S.r.l. – referred to as Meta – over a suspected abuse of dominant position in violation of article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. As of March 2025, Meta – which holds a dominant position in the market for consumer communications apps – decided to pre-install its artificial intelligence service, named Meta AI, by combining it with its WhatsApp service, without any prior request from users. Furthermore, Meta AI is placed in a prominent position on the screen and integrated into the search bar. By combining Meta AI with WhatsApp, Meta appears capable of channelling its customer base into the emerging market, not through merit-based competition, but by “imposing” the availability of the two distinct services upon users, potentially harming competitors, the ICA says. According to the Authority, there is thus a risk that users may become “locked in” or functionally dependent on Meta AI, not least because, by using the information provided over time, it appears that the responses generated by the service become increasingly useful and relevant.