EU orders Meta to restore free WhatsApp access for rival AI assistants in antitrust crackdown
17 Sources
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WhatsApp ordered to host rival AI assistants for free
Meta has been ordered by the European Commission to restore free WhatsApp access for chatbots made by rival AI providers while the regulator finishes its antitrust investigation. The rare interim measure announced on Tuesday was deemed necessary "to prevent serious and irreparable damage to
[2]
EU regulators order Meta to allow rival AI chatbots free access to WhatsApp
BRUSSELS, June 9 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators on Tuesday ordered Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab to give rival AI chatbots free access to WhatsApp while they continue to investigate whether the company abused its market power by blocking competitors from the messaging app. The
[3]
EU orders Meta to restore WhatsApp access for rival AI chatbots
LONDON (AP) -- European Union regulators on Tuesday ordered Meta Platforms to restore access to WhatsApp for rival AI chatbot makers until its antitrust investigation is complete. The bloc's executive Commission, which is the 27-nation EU's top antitrust and competition enforcer, said it was
[4]
EU orders Meta to open WhatsApp to rival AI chatbots
The EU has told Meta that it must allow AI chatbots operated by rival firms to use WhatsApp for free. The European Commission said the firm would need to maintain that access while it concluded an antitrust investigation into the tech giant's decision to bar access for AI providers, other than
[5]
EU orders Meta to restore WhatsApp AI rival access in 5 days
The EU ordered Meta to restore WhatsApp access for rival AI assistants within five days, citing "serious and irreparable damage to competition." Meta will appeal. The investigation has no deadline and fines could reach 10% of global revenue. The European Commission has ordered Meta to "restore
[6]
EU Orders Meta to Open WhatsApp to Rival AI Chatbots -- Meta Calls It 'Regulatory Overreach'
The case centers on Meta's decision to reserve WhatsApp AI integrations for Meta AI, with potential fines reaching 10% of global revenue for non-compliance. The European Commission ordered Meta on Monday to give rival AI chatbots free access to WhatsApp's business messaging tools, escalating an
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Business - EU orders Meta to reopen WhatsApp to rival AI assistants
One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. The EU has ordered Meta to grant rival AI chatbots free access to its WhatsApp platform within five working days, while it completes its antitrust
[8]
EU orders Meta to open WhatsApp to rival AI chatbots
The EU said this would 'prevent serious and irreparable harm to competition' in the growing market. The EU has ordered Meta to open up WhatsApp to rival AI assistants and maintain access until the Commission completes its antitrust investigation into the social media juggernaut. The order comes
[9]
EU orders Meta to open WhatsApp to rival AI chatbots for free
Brussels (Belgium) (AFP) - The EU ordered Meta on Tuesday to give rival AI chatbots access to its WhatsApp platform for free within five working days as it carries out an antitrust probe, or risk a heavy fine. The measure follows the launch in December of an EU investigation into the US firm's
[10]
EU Orders Meta to Restore WhatsApp Access for Rival AI Chatbots
LONDON (AP) -- European Union regulators on Tuesday ordered Meta Platforms to restore access to WhatsApp for rival AI chatbot makers until an antitrust investigation is complete. The bloc's executive Commission, which is the 27-nation EU's top antitrust and competition enforcer, said it was taking
[11]
Meta Reportedly Directed to Offer Free WhatsApp Access to Rival AI Chatbots
Meta barred rival AI services from accessing its WhatsApp last year European Union antitrust regulators have directed Meta Platforms to provide competing AI chatbot services with free access to WhatsApp, according to a report. The authorities are investigating allegations that the Mark
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EU orders Meta to open WhatsApp to rival AI chatbots for free
The EU ordered Meta on Tuesday to give rival AI chatbots access to its WhatsApp platform for free within five working days as it carries out an antitrust probe, or risk a heavy fine. The EU had warned Meta it faced interim measures if it did not open WhatsApp to rival AI assistants in
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European Commission Orders Meta Platforms to Reinstate WhatsApp Access for Rival AI Chatbots
Meta Platforms, Inc. specializes in online social networking services. Net sales break down by activity as follows: - operation of social networking, messaging, photo and video sharing platforms (98.9%): operation of the Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Threads and WhatsApp platforms (3.58 billion
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Meta Gets EU Antitrust Order to Open WhatsApp to Rival AI Chatbots -- Update
The European Union told Meta Platforms to reverse a policy that effectively bans rival artificial intelligence chatbots from using a tool to communicate with users on WhatsApp as officials continue to probe the company's messaging service. The order marks the latest step from the European
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Meta ordered by EU to allow rival AI chatbots back on WhatsApp for free
BRUSSELS, June 9 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms has been ordered by EU antitrust regulators to give rival AI chatbots such as OpenAI free access to WhatsApp while they continue to investigate whether the company abused its market power by blocking competitors from the messaging app. The European
[16]
Meta Gets EU Antitrust Order to Open WhatsApp to Rival AI Chatbots
The European Union told Meta Platforms to reverse a policy that effectively bans rival artificial intelligence chatbots from using a tool to communicate with users on WhatsApp as officials continue to probe the company's messaging service. The order marks the latest step from the European
[17]
EU regulators order Meta to allow rival AI chatbots free access to WhatsApp
BRUSSELS, June 9 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators on Tuesday ordered Meta Platforms to give rival AI chatbots free access to WhatsApp while they continue to investigate whether the company abused its market power by blocking competitors from the messaging app. The European Commission's decision
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The European Commission has ordered Meta to restore free WhatsApp access for rival AI chatbots within five days, marking only the second time in over 20 years that the EU has used emergency interim measures. Meta faces potential fines of up to 10% of annual revenue—approximately $20 billion—if it fails to comply while the antitrust investigation continues.
Meta Faces Rare EU Antitrust Emergency Order
The European Commission has issued a rare interim measure ordering Meta to restore free access to WhatsApp for rival AI assistants within five working days. The decision, announced on Tuesday, marks only the second time in more than 20 years that EU antitrust regulators have deployed this emergency power, signaling the urgency of preserving competition in the AI market
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. The European Commission order came after Meta Platforms banned third-party AI chatbots from its WhatsApp Business API in October, while exempting its own Meta AI assistant2
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Source: The Verge
Investigation Sparked by AI Startup Complaints
The antitrust investigation began in December 2025 following complaints from The Interaction Company of California, developer of the Poke.com AI assistant, French AI startup Agentik, and a Spanish competitor
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. These companies alleged that Meta was abusing its market dominance by blocking rival AI chatbots from accessing WhatsApp Business, effectively shutting them out of a platform with more than two billion users globally5
. In March, Meta attempted to resolve the probe by restoring access for a fee, but this move seemingly violated EU competition rules and drew further objections from regulators1
.Why the Commission Acted Urgently
"In rapidly evolving markets, competition can be lost long before a final decision is adopted," European competition commissioner Teresa Ribera explained in a statement
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. The interim measure will remain in place for the duration of the investigation to prevent what regulators called "serious and irreparable damage to competition" in the general-purpose AI assistant market4
. Ribera emphasized that these measures would safeguard competition in the growing market for AI assistants by preserving WhatsApp as a key entry point to reach consumers in Europe3
.
Source: Reuters
Meta Cries Regulatory Overreach, Plans Appeal
Meta has reacted angrily to the decision, rejecting the case as baseless and announcing plans to appeal. "The European Commission has decided that OpenAI and some of the largest companies in the world can use the paid-for WhatsApp Business product for free," a Meta spokesperson stated
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. The company characterized the order as regulatory overreach subsidized by the many European companies that pay for WhatsApp Business services3
. Meta must comply by June 15th, restoring access under the same terms and conditions that were in place before the October ban, notably free of charge1
.Related Stories
Massive Financial Stakes and Precedent
If Meta ignores the order or is found to have breached EU antitrust rules, it could face fines of up to 10% of annual revenue—approximately $20 billion based on 2025 earnings of around $187 billion
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. This adds to Meta's growing regulatory burden in the EU, which already includes a €200 million fine in April 2025 for allegedly breaching the Digital Markets Act and a €798 million penalty in November 2024 for tying Facebook Marketplace to its social network5
. The broader antitrust investigation is still ongoing with no date set for a legal conclusion1
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Source: Gadgets 360
Implications for Big Tech and AI Startups
For AI startups building business-facing assistants, free access to WhatsApp Business represents a distribution channel that no other messaging platform can replicate at the same scale. Meta's argument centers on whether it should be forced to give competitors free access to a paid product, while the Commission's position is that blocking rivals from an essential platform harms competition in a market that is still forming
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. Brussels has been resorting to temporary orders after facing criticism over previous years-long antitrust investigations into Big Tech companies that failed to rein in their market power3
. The decision preserves choice for citizens across Europe on the AI assistants they want to use with WhatsApp, without that decision being made for them by a dominant platform4
.References
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