The Italian Competition Authority has opened an investigation into Meta over allegations that the company abused its dominant position by integrating its artificial intelligence assistant, Meta AI, into the WhatsApp messaging service without users’ prior consent.
The investigation, announced on 30 July 2025, focuses on Meta Platforms Inc., Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, WhatsApp Ireland Limited and Facebook Italy S.r.l. The regulator said that since March 2025, Meta pre-installed its Meta AI service on WhatsApp, placing the AI tool in a prominent position within the app, including integration into the search bar, and was made available to users without any request on their part.
According to the authority, this integration could unfairly steer WhatsApp users towards Meta’s AI services, potentially harming competitors and creating a risk that users become “locked in” or functionally dependent on Meta AI. The authority stated, “By pairing Meta AI with WhatsApp, Meta appears to be able to steer its user base into the new market not through merit-based competition, but by ‘forcing’ users to accept the availability of two distinct services, potentially harming competing services.”
The regulator also warned that the use of information provided over time could make Meta AI’s responses increasingly useful and relevant, further increasing user reliance on the service.
Meta AI is now integrated directly into the WhatsApp interface, appearing as a persistent icon or within the app’s search bar and there is currently no way to remove or disable the feature from WhatsApp entirely. Users are not required to use Meta AI, but the option remains ever-present within the app, and no opt-out setting is available.
The investigation is being carried out in close cooperation with the European Commission’s competition department. Officials from the authority, assisted by the Special Antitrust Unit of the Italian Financial Police, conducted an inspection at the premises of Meta’s Italian subsidiary, Facebook Italy S.r.l., as part of the inquiry.
A Meta spokesperson said the company was cooperating fully with the Italian Competition Authority. In a statement, Meta said: “Offering free access to our AI features in WhatsApp gives millions of Italians the choice to use AI in a place they already know, trust and understand.”
The authority noted that companies found to have breached European Union competition rules by abusing a dominant position can face fines of up to 10 per cent of their worldwide turnover.
Meta has previously defended the integration of its AI assistant in WhatsApp by stating that the service is “optional” and only processes messages that users actively choose to share with it. The company has said that personal messages and calls remain protected by end-to-end encryption, and that while the AI feature is a constant presence within the app and cannot be removed only direct queries to the assistant are processed, and all other chats remain inaccessible to the company.
