EU threatens interim ban on Meta over WhatsApp AI policies blocking rival AI chatbots
7 Sources
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Meta Threatened With EU Restrictions Over WhatsApp AI Concerns
Meta Platforms Inc. has been threatened with an interim European Union ban on policies that allegedly block rival AI firms from operating on WhatsApp, unless the tech giant offers fixes that appease the bloc's concerns. In a so-called supplementary statement of objections, the European Commission
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EU warns Meta WhatsApp AI fee breaches antitrust rules, orders rollback
BRUSSELS, April 15 (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Wednesday it intended to order Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab to reinstate rival artificial intelligence assistants on its WhatsApp messaging service after the U.S. tech giant imposed an access fee. "The Commission notified
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EU threatens to force Meta to restore WhatsApp full access for rival AI chatbots
LONDON (AP) -- European Union regulators have threatened to force WhatsApp parent Meta Platforms to reverse a move that they say effectively limits the AI chatbots of rival companies from accessing the messaging app. Meta's attempt to resolve the bloc's antitrust investigation of WhatsApp by
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EU rejects Meta's pay-for-access remedy in WhatsApp AI chatbots probe
Brussels (Belgium) (AFP) - The EU told Meta Wednesday that charging rival AI chatbots for access to its WhatsApp platform runs against the bloc's antitrust rules, rebuffing the measure taken by the US giant in response to a probe. Meta started charging a fee as redress in March after an EU probe
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EU Threatens to Force Meta to Restore WhatsApp Full Access for Rival AI Chatbots
LONDON (AP) -- European Union regulators have threatened to force WhatsApp parent Meta Platforms to reverse a move that they say effectively limits the AI chatbots of rival companies from accessing the messaging app. Meta's attempt to resolve the bloc's antitrust investigation of WhatsApp by
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EU Moves to Force Meta to Restore Rival AI Access on WhatsApp | PYMNTS.com
According to Reuters, the Commission warned that Meta's revised policy could undermine fair competition by limiting access for rival AI services. "The Commission notified Meta that the revised policy seems to have the same effect of excluding third-party AI assistants from WhatsApp and thus appears
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EU targets Meta with possible interim measures over WhatsApp AI rival ban
BRUSSELS, April 15 (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Wednesday it intended to impose interim measures on Meta Platforms after the U.S. tech giant moved to reinstate artificial intelligence assistants from rivals on its WhatsApp messaging service for a fee. "The Commission notified Meta
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The European Commission rejected Meta's pay-for-access remedy for third-party AI providers on WhatsApp, threatening interim measures to restore full access. The EU antitrust watchdog says Meta's fee-based approach is equivalent to an outright ban and constitutes abuse of dominant position, potentially harming competition in the AI assistant market.
EU Antitrust Action Targets Meta's WhatsApp AI Restrictions
The European Commission has threatened Meta with an interim ban over policies that allegedly prevent rival AI chatbots from operating on its WhatsApp platform, escalating one of the most significant EU antitrust confrontations with Big Tech in the AI era
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. The commission issued a supplementary statement of objections on Wednesday, signaling its intent to impose interim measures unless Meta offers fixes that address the bloc's concerns about serious and irreparable harm to competition1
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Source: AP
The European Commission investigation, which opened in December, focuses on Meta's October 2025 policy changes that effectively barred third-party AI providers from offering their services through WhatsApp
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. EU regulators are concerned that locking WhatsApp's more than three billion users into Meta AI could give the company a commercial advantage over rival chatbots, particularly smaller market entrants4
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Source: Bloomberg
Pay-for-Access Model Rejected as Insufficient Remedy
Meta attempted to resolve the probe in March by introducing a fee-based system that would allow third-party AI assistants access to WhatsApp Business for one year, contingent on payment
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. However, the competition watchdog rejected this pay-for-access model as unsatisfactory, arguing it has the same exclusionary effect as the original ban4
."Replacing the legal ban with pricing that has a similar effect does not change our preliminary view that Meta's conduct appears to be an abuse of its dominant position, that may seriously harm competition on the market for AI assistants," said Teresa Ribera, the commission's executive vice president overseeing competition
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.The commission intends to order Meta to restore full access for third-party AI assistants under the same conditions as before October 15, 2025, to prevent serious and irreparable market harm
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. These interim measures would remain in place until the end of the investigation2
.Meta Defends WhatsApp Business Pricing Structure
Meta has pushed back against the regulators' demands, arguing that the EU competition rules interpretation would force it to subsidize major competitors like OpenAI at the expense of small businesses. "The European Commission is proposing to use its regulatory powers to enable some of the largest companies in the world to use the paid-for WhatsApp Business product for free," a Meta spokesperson stated
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Source: PYMNTS
The company used a pointed example to illustrate its position: "This means that a small bakery in France paying to use the service to take croissant orders will be picking up the tab for OpenAI. Small European businesses shouldn't foot OpenAI's bill"
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Expanded Investigation and Potential Penalties
The probe has now been expanded to cover Italy and the entire European Economic Area, comprising the EU's 27 member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway
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. Italy had initially been excluded because its own competition authority was examining the issue, but Brussels has now integrated the Italian investigation into its broader probe1
.Under EU rules, competition regulators can order companies to temporarily stop suspect business practices, though these demands can be challenged in the bloc's courts in Luxembourg. Eventual fines for breaching EU antitrust rules can reach as high as 10% of global annual revenue, although they rarely reach that level, especially if alleged wrongdoing is short-lived
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. The case represents part of broader attempts by the 27-nation bloc to rein in Big Tech firms, many of which are based in the United States4
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