Meta Opens WhatsApp to Rival AI Chatbots in Europe to Avoid Massive EU Antitrust Fine

Meta Opens WhatsApp To Rival AI Chatbots In Europe To Avoid Massive EU Antitrust Fine And Regulatory Crac

Meta Makes Temporary WhatsApp Concession Amid EU Pressure The company said Tuesday that general-purpose AI chatbots operating in the European Economic Area will receive free access to WhatsApp's Business API for one month while discussions with the European Commission continue, Reuters reported. Meta's move follows growing scrutiny over its Jan. 15 policy that initially restricted WhatsApp AI integration to Meta AI alone. Although Meta later revised the policy in March to permit rival chatbots for a fee, EU regulators argued the changes may still hinder fair competition. A Meta spokesperson told the publication that the move was part of efforts to reach a "quick and fair" resolution with regulators. Meta did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comments. European Commission Signals Cautious Approval The European Commission called the latest concession a step in the right direction, suggesting the temporary arrangement may create conditions for more substantive commitments from Meta. However, officials noted that negotiations remain time-sensitive and depend on Meta's "genuine intention" to fully address competition concerns. Billions In Potential Fines At Stake If Meta fails to satisfy EU regulators, it could face formal antitrust charges and fines of up to 10% of its annual global revenue. The investigation was triggered by complaints from rival AI firms, including California-based The Interaction Company, developer of Poke.com and a Spanish competitor. The EU is also reportedly weighing new rules that could restrict member states from relying on U.S.-based cloud providers to handle sensitive government data. Price Action: Meta shares finished Tuesday's session at $603.00, gaining 0.69% and edged down 0.18% to $601.93 in after-hours trading, according to Benzinga Pro. Benzinga Edge Rankings place Meta in the 89th percentile for growth, although the stock has faced a negative price trend across short, medium and long-term periods. Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo Courtesy: BigTunaOnline on Shutterstock.com Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.

Meta Offers Free WhatsApp Business API Access to AI Rivals in EU

Meta has offered rival AI chatbot developers one month of free access to WhatsApp's business API in Europe as it tries to resolve an antitrust investigation by the European Commission and avoid a possible fine, according to a report by Reuters. The move comes weeks after EU regulators signalled that they were preparing to order Meta to open WhatsApp to competing AI services. The case centres on Meta's earlier decision to allow only its AI assistant on WhatsApp. In March, the company revised the policy, allowing rivals to access the platform only by paying a fee. That led to fresh objections from EU regulators. How the dispute started: The dispute began after Meta announced in October 2025 that it would block third-party AI chatbots such as ChatGPT and Perplexity from using WhatsApp's Business API beginning in January 2026. In December 2025, Italy's competition authority intervened against Meta's planned ban on third-party AI chatbots using WhatsApp, warning that it could damage competition in the AI market. In February 2026, the European Commission also objected to the restrictions, saying Meta's actions could marginalise smaller AI rivals. "As part of ongoing discussions with the European Commission, general-purpose AI chatbots operating in the EEA will be given free access to the WhatsApp Business API for one month," a Meta spokesperson said. "This will provide the ⁠Commission and Meta with time to achieve a quick and fair outcome to the investigation." EU response and Meta's defence: The European Commission said the offer was "a step in the right direction" and added: "The Commission believes this creates adequate conditions to discuss commitments with Meta that would address our concerns on the ⁠substance of the case." It also warned that the talks would depend on "Meta's genuine intention to address the Commission's concerns." Meta has argued that third-party AI bots have sharply increased message volumes on WhatsApp and strained the infrastructure built mainly for customer support and business updates. The company had also said it did not have a pricing system for AI chatbot providers at the time. Complaints over pricing: Some developers had earlier accused Meta of making access too expensive after partially easing the restrictions. Poke.com co-founder Marvin von Hagen wrote on X: "Our average cost per user went from $0.13 to $11.04 - just for the whatsapp api. How does this allow for fair competition?" What is at stake: If the company settles the case, it could avoid a formal antitrust ruling and a penalty of up to 10% of its global annual revenue under EU competition rules. The investigation began after complaints from California-based The Interaction Company, which develops the Poke.com AI assistant, and a Spanish competitor.

Meta offers rival AI chatbots free access to WhatsApp for a month

BRUSSELS, May 12 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms has offered to give rival AI chatbots free access to its social messaging service WhatsApp for a month while it discusses commitments with EU antitrust regulators to address their concerns, the U.S. tech giant said on Tuesday. Meta's move came after the European Commission, which acts as the EU competition enforcer, indicated that it was inclined to order the company to provide rival AI chatbots access to WhatsApp. The EU antitrust enforcer welcomed the move. Meta introduced a policy on January 15 allowing only its Meta AI assistant on WhatsApp, before subsequently amending it in March and saying rivals could use the social messaging app for a fee. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Nia Williams)