Italy watchdog orders Meta to halt WhatsApp terms barring rival AI chatbots

Teenagers pose for a photo while holding smartphones in front of a Whatsapp logo in this illustration taken September 11, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

MILAN, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Italy's ‌antitrust authority (AGCM) on Wednesday ordered Meta Platforms to suspend ‌contractual terms that could shut rival AI chatbots out of ‌WhatsApp, as it investigates the U.S. tech group for suspected abuse of a dominant position.

A spokesperson for Meta called the decision "fundamentally flawed," and said the emergence ‍of AI chatbots "put a strain on our ‍systems that they were ‌not designed to support".