The European Union intends to begin investigating this year how MetaPlatforms integrated artificial intelligence features into the WhatsApp app, according to the Financial Times, in what may represent the latest investigation into the big tech company’s dominance of the digital space in the region. The European Commission is preparing to open an investigation into the way the US company integrated the Meta AI system into the popular messaging app, and the agency is likely to announce the investigation in the coming days, according to the newspaper. It is not clear which aspect of the feature rollout, which began in March, could be targeted by the Commission, whose upcoming investigation will be based on traditional antitrust law, rather than digital markets law, according to the Financial Times. European pressure on tech companies The US administration sees the sweeping law – a set that defines what is permissible and prohibited for companies such as Google, which is affiliated with Alphabet, and Apple – as an attempt by the region to limit the dominance of US technology companies in Europe. “Meta” manages to kidnap the most prominent design officials at “Apple”. Details here. The European Union has stepped up pressure on big tech companies in recent years, trying to limit practices that could constitute market abuse as the influence of giant American tech companies and their digital presence expands. US President Donald Trump has long criticized the European Union’s technology and antitrust regulations, seeing them as hindering US companies, and in August he threatened to impose new tariffs and export restrictions on advanced technology and advanced semiconductors in response to other countries imposing taxes on digital services that have affected US technology companies. Meta representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.