05:56 AM EST, 11/26/2025 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with WhatsApp's comments in the last two paragraphs.)

Meta Platforms ( META ) is facing expanded scrutiny from Italy's competition regulator, which on Wednesday broadened its investigation into allegations that the company abused its dominant position by deploying artificial intelligence tools on its WhatsApp messaging service.

The Italian Competition Authority said Wednesday the new WhatsApp Business Solution terms and the integration of new Meta AI interaction tools in the app could "limit production, market access or technical developments in the AI Chatbot services market".

The Italian antitrust authority initiated the probe against Meta in July.

"We strongly reject these unfounded claims. The WhatsApp API was never designed to be used for AI chatbots and doing so would place severe strain on our systems," a spokesperson for WhatsApp told MT Newswires in an emailed statement.

The spokesperson added that the recent update does not affect businesses providing customer support or those who utilize the AI assistant of their choice to communicate with customers.