Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Italy's antitrust authority accused Mark Zuckerberg-owned Meta Platforms of antitrust violations Wednesday and ordered it to immediately suspend its WhatsApp business solution terms to support access by artificial intelligence competitors.
Officials for Italy's Autorita Garante Della Concorrenza e del Mercato (the Italian Antitrust Authority) accused Meta Platforms Inc. officials of abuse of a dominant position regarding Meta's integration of its Meta AI into WhatsApp.
The accusation arises from the messaging app more prominently displaying the Meta AI service on WhatsApp than competing AI services and the pending exclusion of Meta AI competitors from WhatsApp as of Jan. 15.
"Meta's conduct appears to constitute an abuse, since it may limit production, market access or technical developments in the AI Chatbot services market to the detriment of consumers," AGCM officials said.
Wednesday's order applies to Meta Platforms Inc., Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd., WhatsApp Ireland Ltd. and Facebook Italy Srl.
