European Union launches anti-trust investigation into Meta, WhatsApp integrates AI function into focus

The European Union is planning a new antitrust investigation into Meta's introduction of artificial intelligence features in its WhatsApp, the latest challenge to big tech companies by the European Union. The European Union Commission is preparing to launch an investigation into how the Silicon Valley company integrated its "MetaAI" system into its popular messaging service earlier this year, according to two officials who spoke to the Financial Times. The European Union's top antitrust enforcer plans to announce the investigation in the coming days, although the timing could still change, according to people familiar with the matter. The new investigation will fall under the purview of the traditional Antimonopoly Act, rather than the Digital Markets Act (DMA) - the European Union's landmark legislation aimed at addressing the dominance of large online platforms, but which has been particularly attacked by the Trump administration. Italian antitrust authorities are already investigating Meta, accusing it of using its dominance to integrate AI into WhatsApp without users' consent.