As a result, competing AI companies would no longer be able to offer their chatbot via WhatsApp, while Meta’s own AI assistant will remain accessible. According to Brussels, this unfairly disadvantages other players, because WhatsApp is an important platform in Europe. Meta is Mark Zuckerberg’s company, which also includes Facebook and Instagram.
Meta will have more time to adjust Facebook and Instagram
Technological revolution
“The AI market is growing rapidly, in Europe and beyond,” said European Commissioner Teresa Ribera (Competition). “We must ensure that European citizens and businesses can fully benefit from this technological revolution, and prevent dominant digital players from abusing their power to push out innovative competitors.”
Ethical hacker sees a simple solution for fake ads on Facebook: ‘Meta can stop that scam in no time, but makes billions from it’
Europe has been tightening its thumbs on the big American tech giants for years, and this is causing a lot of irritation in Washington. President Donald Trump believes that Brussels is bullying its companies with strict rules and mega fines and threatened countermeasures last summer if Europe continues.
Against that backdrop, the new investigation into Meta, which delayed launching its AI features in WhatsApp earlier this year due to the “complex regulatory system” in the EU.