Italy’s competition authority has taken decisive action against Meta in response to new WhatsApp Business policies, that could block rival AI chatbots from operating on the messaging service, Reuters is reporting.
The Italian Antitrust Authority, known as AGCM, ordered Meta to immediately suspend terms in its WhatsApp Business Solution contract, that would effectively prevent competing AI assistant services from using the platform. The move comes amid a broader investigation into whether Meta has misused its market power in the AI chatbot sector.
The dispute centers on changes Meta introduced in October to the contractual terms for WhatsApp’s business tools. Under the updated rules, third party AI chatbot providers whose primary function is offering conversational AI services could be excluded from accessing WhatsApp’s infrastructure. Regulators in Rome argue these conditions unfairly favour Meta’s own AI chatbot over others.
AGCM’s order to suspend the exclusion terms seeks to prevent immediate and irreversible harm to competition while the investigation continues. Officials said Meta’s actions might limit production, innovation and access to the AI chatbot market in ways that disadvantage consumers.
Meta has strongly criticised the antitrust order, describing it as “groundless” and saying the company plans to challenge the decision through legal channels. A spokesperson for Meta argued that WhatsApp’s business interface was not designed to host general AI chatbot services at the scale implied by the complaint.
The European Commission has also launched a parallel investigation into Meta’s policies toward rival AI chatbots on WhatsApp, signalling that regulators at both national and EU levels are aligned in their efforts to ensure fair access and competition in digital markets.
The outcome of this case could have significant implications for how AI chatbots operate within major messaging platforms across Europe. Developers of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Copilot and other generative AI services have expressed concern that restrictive platform rules could limit their ability to reach users through widely used apps like WhatsApp.
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