Türkiye opens probe into Meta's AI practices, imposes interim measure

Türkiye's Competition Board on Friday opened a formal investigation into Meta Platforms over the company's artificial intelligence practices and imposed an interim measure to ensure competition, according to a statement from the authority. The probe covers Meta Platforms, Inc., Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, WhatsApp LLC, and Meta Platforms Istanbul Bilisim Hizmetleri Ltd. The authority said the investigation followed a preliminary inquiry into whether the tech giant violated Article 6 of Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition.

The board will specifically assess whether Meta breached competition regulations by integrating its Meta AI service into WhatsApp while preventing third-party AI providers from offering services through the messaging platform. The Competition Board decided on May 14 to initiate the formal probe after reviewing evidence from the preliminary inquiry.

Interim requirements

During the preliminary investigation, the authority found serious indications that Meta's practices prevented third-party general-purpose generative AI chatbots and assistants from providing services through WhatsApp as a primary platform, which could constitute a violation of competition rules. To prevent irreparable harm pending a final decision, the board imposed an interim measure requiring Meta to establish conditions enabling third-party AI services to operate through WhatsApp.

The authority emphasized that these conditions must not create de facto or economic obstacles hindering the provision of such services. If Meta fails to comply with the interim measure obligations within one month of receiving the reasoned decision, the company will face administrative fines, the statement added.