Italy broadens antitrust probe into Meta over AI tools in WhatsApp

The Italian Competition Authority has broadened the scope of the investigation proceedings launched into Meta Platforms (META) Inc., Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, WhatsApp Ireland Limited and Facebook Italy S.r.l. – referred to as Meta – with respect to the WhatsApp Business Solution Terms. These terms exclude from the WhatsApp platform, as of 15 October 2025, Meta AI’s competitors in the AI Chatbot services market. Alongside broadening the scope of its ongoing investigation, the Authority has also opened a procedure for the possible adoption of interim measures under Section 14-bis of Law 287/1990, with respect to the new WhatsApp Business Solution Terms and the integration of new Meta AI interaction tools or features into WhatsApp. According to the Authority, this change to the contractual terms could limit production, market access or technical developments in the AI Chatbot services market, to the detriment of consumers, and may amount to a possible violation of Article 102 TFEU. Furthermore, the Authority deems Meta’s violation of competition rules capable of severely and irreparably undermining the contestability of the market, due to consumers’ limited propensity to change their habits, which hampers switching to competing services.