What happened
Italy's antitrust authority, the AGCM, mandated Meta to suspend its policy restricting companies from deploying AI chatbots via WhatsApp's business tools. This action reverses Meta's updated contractual conditions, which could have excluded Meta AI's competitors from operating on the platform. The AGCM initiated its investigation in July, expanding it in November, citing concerns over WhatsApp's market dominance and potential stifling of competition. Meta plans to appeal the order, which follows a parallel EU antitrust investigation into similar concerns.
Why it matters
The AGCM's mandate removes a direct policy control previously exercised by Meta over third-party AI chatbot integration within WhatsApp's business tools. This introduces an increased operational burden for platform operators and IT security teams, who now face higher due diligence requirements for managing a broader ecosystem of AI services. Compliance and procurement teams must also navigate the implications of this expanded third-party access.
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