Woe in sight for Halfin this case WhatsApp owned by the American multinational based in Menlo Park, California: the Competition and Market Guarantor Authority (AGCM) has screwed a preliminary investigation of mutual agreement with the European Commission for an alleged abuse of dominant position from March 2025 as regards its artificial intelligence product called Meta Ai.
What are the accusations
For a few months we have all noticed that inside WhatsApp there is that colorful sphere that provides any type of response using artificial intelligence -based models. According to the accusation, article 102 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union would have been violated. “Destination, which holds a dominant position in the communication services market via app, starting from March 2025 has decided to pre-install its artificial intelligence service, called Meta Ai, combining it with the WhatsApp app without users asking for it “.
A service “imposed” to users
According to the Antitrust, also the position of Meta Ai on the main and integrated screen in the search bar would be incorrect. “Through the combination of Meta Ai with WhatsApp, Meta appears to be able to tow its own user base in the new market, not through competition based on merits, but ‘impose‘users the availability of the two distinct services with potential prejudice of competing services “, explains the note.
From here, therefore, there would be the risk that all users can remain “blocked or functionally employees From Meta to “. On Monday, the authorities of the Authority carried out inspections in the offices of the Italian subsidiary of Meta, Facebook Italy srl, with the help of the special antitrust nucleus of the Guardia di Finanza.
Meta’s response
“Offering free access to our artificial intelligence features on WhatsApp gives millions of Italians the opportunity to choose to use the IA in an environment they already know, of which they trust and understand. We are fully collaborating with the Italian Authority Guarantor of Competition “: This is the position of the Italian subsidiary of Meta according to the words of one of its spokespersons that responded regarding the investigation launched by the antitrust for alleged abuse of the dominant position.
The Note of the Codacons
“We are satisfied with the opening of the investigation aside by the Antitrust Authority and, if illegal conduct will be ascertained, we will start the necessary legal actions to protect users who have seen the service of IA without any consent“: the Codacons adding that the submitted complaint was accepted in March by the consumer association. “The conduct put in place by Meta Platforms in the management of the forced integration of Meta ai Ai within the Whatsapp app would appear to be read of a plurality of European and national regulatory provisions.
In fact, there would be no preventive, explicit and free consent, as required by the jurisprudence of the EU Court of Justice, which has repeatedly reiterated that consent cannot be presumed or imposed by default “, Codacons explained, stressing that this conduct would fall within one possible “incorrect commercial practice prohibited by the consumer code, as the unilateral imposition of a potentially invasive function would present itself as a” improvement “of the service, when in reality it would be time to collect data and retain the user through persuasive techniques, so much so that it relevant to the economic behavior of the average consumer significantly“.