antitrust

Dec. 24 (UPI) — Italy’s antitrust authority accused Mark Zuckerberg-owned Meta Platforms of antitrust violations Wednesday and ordered it to immediately suspend its WhatsApp business solution terms to support access by artificial intelligence competitors.

Officials for Italy’s Autorita Garante Della Concorrenza e del Mercato (the Italian Antitrust Authority) accused Meta Platforms Inc. officials of abuse of a dominant position regarding Meta’s integration of its Meta AI into WhatsApp.

The accusation arises from the messaging app more prominently displaying the Meta AI service on WhatsApp than competing AI services and the pending exclusion of Meta AI competitors from WhatsApp as of Jan. 15.

“Meta’s conduct appears to constitute an abuse, since it may limit production, market access or technical developments in the AI Chatbot services market to the detriment of consumers,” AGCM officials said.

Wednesday’s order applies to Meta Platforms Inc., Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd., WhatsApp Ireland Ltd. and Facebook Italy Srl.

The antitrust authority is working with the European Commission to ensure Meta’s conduct is addressed effectively.

It began investigating the matter in July to determine if Meta engaged in an illegal abuse of a dominant position and expanded the investigation to include the new WhatsApp business solution terms that were added Oct. 15.

Investigators determined Meta’s conduct rises to the level of abuse that could limit production, market access or technical developments in the AI chatbot services market.

Such abuse could harm consumers and Meta’s competitors, while undermining contestability, the authority said.

Meta Platforms owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp and is controlled by majority shareholder Zuckerberg.

The antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR by two of its racing teams — including one co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan — was settled Thursday, with the motorsports behemoth agreeing to grant all of its teams the permanent charters they had been seeking.

The lawsuit was filed Oct. 2, 2024, in the Western District of North Carolina by 23XI Racing — which is owned by Jordan, three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin and Jordan’s longtime business advisor Curtis Polk — and Front Row Motorsports, which is owned by entrepreneur Bob Jenkins.

The sides had failed in previous attempts to settle leading up to the trial, which was entering its ninth day before a surprise joint announcement by NASCAR and the two racing teams. The teams had referred to the organization and the France family, which has privately owned NASCAR since its start in 1948, as “monopolistic bullies” in their lawsuit.

“NASCAR, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are pleased to announce a mutually agreed-upon resolution that delivers long-term stability and creates the conditions for meaningful growth for all teams in a more competitive environment,” the parties said in a statement.

“This resolution reflects our shared commitment to maintaining a fair and equitable framework for long-term participation in America’s premier motorsport, one that supports teams, partners and stakeholders while ensuring fans enjoy uninterrupted access to the best racing in the world. The agreement allows all parties to move forward with a unified focus on advancing stock car racing and delivering exceptional competition for our fans.”

The lawsuit had sought “permanent injunctive relief to end NASCAR’s exclusionary practices and restore competition in the relevant market,” as well as a large sum to cover legal fees and financial losses.

While the terms of the settlement were not revealed, the parties said in their statement that NASCAR had agreed to “issue an amendment to existing charter holders detailing the updated terms for signature, which will include a form of ‘evergreen’ charters, subject to mutual agreement.”

23XI and Front Row were the only two racing teams that did not sign new charter agreements with NASCAR in September 2024. They will receive their combined six charters back for 2026.

Jordan, Hamlin, Polk and Jenkins stood with NASCAR chairman Jim France, who was a co-defendent in the lawsuit, on the courthouse steps Thursday afternoon as the parties tried to put the bitterness of the case behind them.

“Like two competitors, obviously we tried to get as much done in each other’s favor,” Jordan told reporters. “I’ve said this from Day 1: The only way this sport is going to grow is we have to find some synergy between the two entities. I think we’ve gotten to that point, unfortunately it took 16 months to get here, but I think level heads have gotten us to this point where we can actually work together and grow this sport.”

France added that now “we can get back to focusing on what we really love, and that’s racing, and we spent a lot of time not really focused on that so much as we needed to be. I feel like we made a very good decision here together and we have a big opportunity to continue growing the sport.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.