As per a December 4 report from the Financial Times, the European Union is gearing up to commence a new antitrust investigation into Meta's incorporation of AI functionalities within WhatsApp. An official announcement regarding this investigation is anticipated in the near future. This inquiry will be grounded in the conventional EU antitrust legislation, as opposed to the Digital Markets Act.

Back in March of the current year, Meta rolled out AI features for WhatsApp across various European nations. The company had initially postponed this launch, attributing it to the intricate regulatory environment in the region. The AI in question serves as an in - app chat assistant, capable of generating prompts and finalizing text content.

Italy's antitrust body has already taken the initiative to launch an investigation. It has accused Meta of exploiting its dominant market position to integrate AI into WhatsApp without obtaining user consent. Moreover, there are concerns that this move could potentially impede production, restrict market access, or hinder technological advancements in the AI chatbot services market.

When approached for a comment on the impending EU investigation, a Meta spokesperson refrained from providing any remarks, asserting that the accusations are baseless.