The EU is to find out from service providers and technology firms if Facebook's $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp would adversely affect the mobile messaging market and its customers.
Regulators have sent a long and detailed questionnaire to firms in a bid to find out if the deal would hold back innovation and lead to price increases.
In May, Facebook approached the EU to look at competition issues as WhatsApp's free service could rival existing European telecoms companies.
The deal would see the social network become one of the biggest players in in the mobile messaging market, and is seen as a test case in how EU competition law applies to social media sectors.
Depending on the feedback, the EU could launch a full competition review, demand concessions or wave the deal through.
Rivals were asked if the deal would impact advertising and whether mobile messaging users would be affected by the deal.
"If negative, please explain why and what kind of negative impact (for example price increase, deterrence of innovation, etc)," the document said.
The questionnaire also asked rival firms if they would face problems as a result of the deal.
"As a result of the Facebook/WhatsApp transaction, do you expect users of WhatsApp to face greater difficulties in switching to another consumer communications service/app?" the questionnaire asked.
If "As a result of the Facebook/WhatsApp transaction, do you expect that it will be more difficult for WhatsApp's competitors to expand their user base or to launch a new consumer communications service/app in the European Economic Area?"
The deal has already been approved by the Federal Trade Commission in the US, with the stipulation that WhatsApp adheres to current privacy practices.
-
Cleo attack victim list grows as Hertz confirms customer data stolenNews Hertz has confirmed it suffered a data breach as a result of the Cleo zero-day vulnerability in late 2024, with the car rental giant warning that customer data was stolen.
-
Lateral moves in tech: Why leaders should support employee mobilityIn-depth Encouraging staff to switch roles can have long-term benefits for skills in the tech sector
-
UK and US reject Paris AI summit agreement as “Atlantic rift” on regulation growsNews The UK and US have refused to sign an international agreement on AI governance amid concerns over "practical clarity'.
-
Looking to use DeepSeek R1 in the EU? This new study shows it’s missing key criteria to comply with the EU AI ActNews The DeepSeek R1 AI model might not meet key requirements to comply with aspects of the EU AI Act, according to new research.
-
European AI alliance looks to take on Silicon Valley and develop home-grown LLMsNews OpenEuroLLM is a consortium of 20 leading European research institutions, companies, and EuroHPC centers hoping to develop a family of open source LLMs.
-
The EU just launched a bold new initiative to support regional AI startups and drive innovationNews EU-based artificial intelligence firms will be given financial support and access to supercomputers in a bid to accelerate innovation and boost competition with global counterparts
-
Why Mistral AI could be Europe’s answer to US dominanceAnalysis Mistral AI has raised a significant amount of investment amid a meteoric rise
-
Wikipedia co-founder warns that the USA could run away with AI developmentNews Jimmy Wales and OpenUK fear EU regulations could stifle open-source AI
-
Why are AI innovators pushing so hard for regulation?Opinion Tech giants are scrambling to curry favor with lawmakers amid a pending regulatory crackdown
-
Sam Altman reverses threat to ‘leave Europe’ over AI regulationsNews Altman’s comments during a panel discussion on Wednesday sparked criticism from EU lawmakers
