Artificial Intelligence to the test of the challenges of competition and the free market: entrepreneur Marvin von Hagen, Claudia Dalmau, Simone Gambuto and Jeremie Jourdain spoke about it in a public meeting at the Foreign Press Association.

The Interaction Company of California, a Bay Area technology company and owner of Poke.com, an advanced artificial intelligence system for messaging and personal assistance, told journalists at the headquarters of the Foreign Press Association in Italy of the outcome of the hearing held on Tuesday at the Italian Antitrust Authority (AGCM). ‘When one platform decides for everyone, it is competition and users who pay,’ he said opening the meeting.

Representatives of the company described the hearing as ‘very positive’, reporting that they had received reassurances from the Authority regarding a forthcoming decision on Meta’s alleged abuse of its dominant position in the market for artificial intelligence applied to messaging services. According to the scenario outlined in the briefing, from 15 January 2026, should the regulatory framework remain unchanged, Meta could be allowed to impose theexclusive use of Meta AI on WhatsApp. A prospect that, according to numerous industry experts, would significantly reduce innovation and freedom of choice for users, locking the market on a solution that is deemed less performing than the AI assistants already available.CEO Marvin von Hagen said: ‘The hearing highlighted the expertise and independence of the Authority, which makes us confident in the process.

The meeting was attended by over forty Italian and international journalists, who engaged in an in-depth discussion with the speakers.

Speakers

• Marvin von Hagen, co-founder and CEO of The Interaction Company of California.

• Claudia Dalmau Gomez, Head of Operations and Legal at The Interaction Company of California.

• Simone Gambuto, antitrust lawyer and equity partner at Nunziante Magrone, specialises in proceedings before the European Commission, AGCM and private enforcement litigation.

• Jeremie Jourdan, a partner at Geradin Partners in Brussels, a former official at the European Commission and former partner at White & Case, with extensive experience in cases of abuse of dominant position under Article 102 TFEU and in the application of the Digital Markets Act.

The new frontier of personalised care

During the briefing, the company reiterated that Poke.com was designed as a true personal digital assistant, capable of operating in an integrated manner on the main messaging services – including WhatsApp, Apple iMessage and SMS – without requiring dedicated applications. The platform is built on the principle of privacy by design, uses encrypted data, does not carry out invasive profiling and guarantees full user control. Its functionalities range from medication reminders to travel assistance, from appointment management to intelligent organisation of daily life.

Finally, The Interaction Company of California emphasised that imposing the exclusive use of Meta AI on WhatsApp would in fact undermine the interoperability on which Poke.com and similar services are based,directly harming users and creating a dangerous precedent for competition, innovation, and freedom of choice in the European digital market. At stake,” the company concluded, “is not the commercial interest of a single company, but the architecture of Europe’s digital future: an ecosystem that must remain open, interoperable, competitive and pluralistic, while respecting users’ rights and established market rules.