Overview

• The AGCM, backed by the European Commission, opened a formal inquiry on July 30 into Meta Platforms Inc., Meta Platforms Ireland, WhatsApp Ireland and Facebook Italy for alleged abuse of dominance under Article 102 TFEU.
• Investigators from the AGCM and the Guardia di Finanza conducted onsite inspections at Facebook Italy S.r.l. as part of the probe.
• Meta has 60 days to submit its defence and faces potential fines up to 10% of its global turnover, with the investigation scheduled to conclude by December 31, 2026.
• Since March, Meta preinstalled its Meta AI assistant on WhatsApp without explicit user opt-in, prompting concerns about user lock-in and harm to rival AI services.
• With EU AI Act obligations taking effect on August 2, Meta says it is fully cooperating with regulators but has declined to join the voluntary European AI code of conduct.