The European Union's antitrust authority says it has approved Facebook's proposed $US19 billion ($A20.56 billion) takeover of the messaging service WhatsApp.
The 28-member bloc's executive Commission said on Friday the deal may go ahead because consumers will continue to have a wide choice of alternative communication apps they could use.
Facebook Inc runs its own mobile messaging service with its Messenger app but the EU found the merged entity "would continue to face sufficient competition".
EU antitrust chief Joaquin Almunia said "while Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are two of the most popular apps, most people use more than one communications app".
The Commission said WhatsApp - launched in 2009 - has about 600 million users globally.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg hopes it will reach 1 billion in a few years.
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