Meta Faces Fresh EU Scrutiny: Regulators Reportedly Consider Interim Restrictions On AI Rollout

• Ribera said the European Commission has received complaints from small businesses in Europe.
• EU regulators continue to scrutinize Big Tech’s growing use of AI.
• The European Commission has launched a formal antitrust probe to determine if Meta’s new rules violate EU competition laws.

The European Union may reportedly take interim action against Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) over its plan to integrate artificial-intelligence features into its messaging service WhatsApp, raising fresh regulatory pressure on the social media giant. 

The development comes as EU regulators continue to scrutinize Big Tech’s growing use of AI in everyday communication tools.

What’s Triggering The Action?

According to a Reuters report, EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said the European Commission is evaluating whether to impose interim restrictions on Meta’s AI-enabled WhatsApp rollout.

Ribera said the European Commission has received complaints from small businesses in Europe about Meta’s WhatsApp AI policy. Meta’s stock inched 0.7% higher in Thursday’s premarket. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the stock remained in ‘bearish’ territory, and message volume changed to ‘low’ from ‘extremely low’ levels in 24 hours. 

European Commission’s Antitrust Probe 

The European Commission has launched a formal antitrust probe to determine if Meta’s new rules on AI providers’ access to WhatsApp could violate EU competition laws.

Under the policy announced in October, Meta restricted AI-driven companies from using the “WhatsApp Business Solution,” platform for fully automated customer interactions, limiting access to businesses where AI is the primary product.

The Commission said it is worried that this policy could stop other AI providers from offering their services on WhatsApp across the European Economic Area (EEA).

“AI markets are booming in Europe and beyond. We must ensure European citizens and businesses can benefit fully from this technological revolution and act to prevent dominant digital incumbents from abusing their power to crowd out innovative competitors.”

-Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President, Clean, Just and Competitive Transition

META stock has gained over 9% year-to-date.  

Also See: Why Did UiPath Stock Surge 10% Pre-Market Today?

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

Share

·

Add us on