Italy launches investigation into the introduction of artificial intelligence into WhatsApp
2025-08-04 12:03:26
TiranaPost
A spokesman for the Italian Antitrust Authority in Milan said that together with the Italian financial police, the business offices of the Italian subsidiary Meta have been searched. The investigation is being carried out in cooperation with the relevant European Union authorities. The accusation from Milan is: Whatsapp provider Meta installed an AI chatbot without the express consent of users. By linking the artificial intelligence application “Meta AI” to Whatsapp, the US concern directs customers towards its own offers, criticizes the Italian Antitrust Authority. This could hinder competition, because users are forced to install two AI applications on their devices, if they do not want to use “Meta AI”.
The company, which owns the online networks Facebook and Instagram, on the other hand, emphasizes the benefits of connecting the apps. “Free access to our AI functions gives millions of Italians the opportunity to use AI in a place they know, trust and understand.” If Italy’s accusations against Meta are confirmed, it would be a major economic blow for the Facebook group. In case of violation of European competition rules, fines of up to ten percent of annual worldwide turnover are threatened.
In recent days, there has been a clash between the EU and Meta on another topic. Parent company Facebook announced that from October it will no longer allow political announcements and advertisements in the European Union on its platforms. The reason is that the EU regulation “cannot be implemented in practice”. A spokesperson for the company complained that the EU guidelines create “legal uncertainty”. Meta’s head Mark Zuckerberg is very critical of the EU rules. At the beginning of the year he accused Brussels of “censorship”.
