The European Commission has signaled its intent to impose “interim measures” on Meta, aiming to prevent the tech giant from restricting access for third-party AI assistants on its WhatsApp platform. This move comes as the Commission has preliminarily concluded that Meta’s actions may have violated EU antitrust regulations, though the investigation remains active and subject to Meta’s response.
Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager emphasized the need to prevent dominant tech companies from leveraging their market power to gain an unfair advantage, thereby safeguarding robust competition. “The AI market is evolving rapidly, necessitating swift action,” Vestager stated. “We are therefore considering implementing interim measures on Meta to ensure continued access for competitors to WhatsApp while the investigation progresses. This is to prevent Meta’s new policy from causing irreparable damage to competition in Europe.”
The Commission’s concern stems from a WhatsApp Business Solution Terms update announced by Meta in October, which, according to the Commission, effectively banned third-party general-purpose AI assistants from the application. This policy change took effect in January.
A Commission spokesperson elaborated that the proposed interim measures would require Meta to reinstate access for third-party AI assistants to WhatsApp under the terms that were in place prior to the policy update, pending the outcome of the investigation.
Meta has countered these assertions, with a company spokesperson stating, “There is no basis for the EU to intervene in the WhatsApp Business API. A wide array of AI solutions are available to users through app stores, operating systems, devices, websites, and industry partnerships. The Commission’s reasoning erroneously presumes the WhatsApp Business API serves as a critical distribution channel for these chatbots.”
This regulatory scrutiny of major US tech firms is part of a broader trend in the EU. In 2025, several tech giants faced significant fines for alleged breaches of EU regulations. Notably, Apple was fined 500 million euros in April for violating anti-steering provisions. In the same month, Meta incurred a 200 million euro penalty for failing to offer consumers a choice regarding the use of their personal data. Earlier in the year, Google was fined 2.95 billion euros in September for antitrust violations related to its online advertising practices.
The current investigation into Meta’s AI access policy on WhatsApp highlights the EU’s proactive stance in shaping the competitive landscape of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, particularly where established platforms hold significant user bases and market influence. The Commission’s potential interim measures underscore its commitment to preserving market dynamics during ongoing investigations, aiming to prevent potentially entrenched competitive disadvantages.
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