2026년 2월 10일 · Unknown · financial · 출처 Yahoo Finance
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
European Union competition regulators have stepped up scrutiny of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) after issuing a formal warning over policies that restrict the use of rival artificial intelligence assistants on WhatsApp. The European Commission sent a statement of objections arguing that Meta's conduct could be limiting competitors' ability to enter or scale in the rapidly expanding AI assistant market, and warned it may take interim measures to prevent what it described as potential serious and irreparable harm to competition. Under EU rules, regulators are allowed to order companies to temporarily halt suspect business practices, although such orders can be challenged in Luxembourg courts, with potential antitrust fines reaching up to 10% of global annual revenue, even if penalties at that level are uncommon.
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The case arrives as US technology companies are facing mounting regulatory pressure from Brussels, a trend that has drawn criticism from US President Donald Trump and the White House. US officials have repeatedly argued that European tech rules amount to a tax on American firms or an attack on free speech, with the dispute threatening to spill into EU trade negotiations and discussions around security guarantees for Ukraine. EU competition chief Teresa Ribera rejected that framing in a Bloomberg TV interview, saying the case is focused on ensuring well-functioning markets and protecting consumers rather than political considerations.
Meta said it intends to defend itself before any interim measures are imposed and argued there is no justification for EU intervention in the WhatsApp Business API. A company spokesperson said users already have access to many AI options through app stores, devices, websites, and partnerships, and that regulators are incorrectly assuming WhatsApp is a key distribution channel for AI chatbots. Separately, WhatsApp's information feeds were designated last month as a Very Large Online Platform under the Digital Services Act, bringing the service under stricter EU content-moderation rules and highlighting the expanding regulatory oversight the company is facing in Europe.
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