BRUSSELS, Dec 4 : EU antitrust regulators opened on Thursday an investigation into Meta Platforms’ new coverage concerning AI suppliers’ entry to its messaging service WhatsApp, saying this may occasionally forestall rivals from providing their providers in Europe.
The European Commission stated the coverage, which can apply from January subsequent yr, might block competing AI suppliers from reaching their prospects by means of WhatsApp whereas Meta’s personal AI service Meta AI would stay accessible to customers on the platform.
“We must ensure European citizens and businesses can benefit fully of this technological revolution and act to prevent dominant digital incumbents from abusing their power to crowd out innovative competitors,” EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera stated in a press release.
“This is why we are investigating if Meta’s new policy might be illegal under competition rules, and whether we should act quickly to prevent any possible irreparable harm to competition in the AI space,” she stated.