[Italian Antitrust Authority Demands U.S. Metaverse Platform Company Suspend Restrictions on Competitors] According to Italy's ANSA news agency, the Italian Antitrust Authority (AGCM) announced on the 24th that it has ordered the U.S. metaverse platform company (Meta) to suspend the enforcement of certain terms that could exclude competitors' AI chatbot services from the communication app WhatsApp. WhatsApp is an instant messaging application launched by Meta's subsidiary, WhatsApp Inc. In a statement, the Italian Antitrust Authority said its ongoing investigation focuses on whether Meta's integration of its proprietary AI service "Meta AI" into WhatsApp, while potentially excluding competitors' AI chatbot services, constitutes an abuse of the company's dominant market position. The statement suggested that this practice could limit output, market access, or technological development in the AI chatbot service market, thereby harming consumer interests. The Italian Antitrust Authority further stated that Meta's actions could cause "serious and irreversible harm" to competition in the relevant market. Meta has opposed this decision. A company spokesperson stated that the decision is "fundamentally flawed," arguing that other AI chatbots accessing the company's business application programming interface (API) have placed pressure on existing systems, which were not originally designed to support such uses. The spokesperson emphasized that the Italian Antitrust Authority's characterization of WhatsApp as akin to an "app store" is not something the company agrees with. (Xinhua News Agency)