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Italy Blocks Meta’s New WhatsApp AI Chatbot Restrictions

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Italy Blocks Meta WhatsApp AI Chatbot Use in Italy

Business Honor
13 January, 2026

Meta temporarily stops new WhatsApp AI chatbot restrictions in Italy after regulators warned the changes could unfairly favor Meta’s own AI.

Meta Platforms has officially excluded Italy from new WhatsApp limitations that would limit how third-party AI chatbots may operate on the messaging network. The decision followed an order from Italy's antitrust regulator, who expressed concern that the adjustments could offer Meta an unfair benefit over competing AI services.

According to a message given to AI developers and reported by Reuters, WhatsApp users with Italian phone numbers will be unaffected by the revised terms of service, which go into effect on January 15. The exception was put in place in accordance with a temporary ban imposed by Italy's competition regulator, known as AGCM. Last month, the regulator instructed Meta to stop the implementation of the new rules while it performed an inquiry.

It focuses on whether Meta's plan to prohibit or block competing AI chatbots on WhatsApp unjustly benefits Meta AI, the company's own chatbot introduced last year. WhatsApp is one of the world's most popular messaging systems, with over two billion users, making access to it extremely useful for AI engineers. Regulators are concerned that restricting competitors may improve Meta's position in the quickly growing AI business. Same time, the European Commission is looking into Meta's actions to see if they violate EU competition laws. While the Commission has not yet implemented any provisional restrictions, its investigation might have major consequences for Meta across Europe.

Meta defends its new regulation, claiming that the increasing usage of AI chatbots places major technological demands on WhatsApp's systems. That is not designed to manage large-scale automated activity. The Interaction Company, the US-based company behind the chatbot Poke.com, criticized Meta for implementing the pause just in Italy rather than internationally. As AI chatbots become more common in communication, business, and everyday life, this argument raises a larger question, who controls access to digital conversations? This might affect how humans and AI interact in a highly automated environment.