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- EU regulators have ordered Meta to restore rival AI chatbots’ access to WhatsApp Business tools.
- Meta criticized the decision, calling it a “regulatory overreach” and vowed to appeal.
- The case centers around Meta’s decision to reserve WhatsApp AI integrations for Meta AI, with potential fines of up to 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 antitrust battle that began when Meta banned rivals from its platform last October. Reuters reports.
Commission Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera said the temporary measures would remain in place for the duration of the investigation that began in December 2025. “In rapidly developing markets, competition can be lost long before a final decision is adopted,” she said in a statement. statement.
The order requires Meta to restore third-party general-purpose AI assistants’ access to the WhatsApp Business API under the same terms that existed before the ban.
Meta described the decision as a “regulatory overreach” and said it would appeal. “The European Commission has decided that OpenAI and some of the world’s largest companies can use the paid WhatsApp Business product for free,” the company said in a statement to Reuters. “This is a regulatory overreach supported by many European companies that pay. We will appeal.”
The commission began its investigation after Meta changed its policy to only allow Meta AI on WhatsApp while banning competing chatbots from the Business API. This policy shift went into effect on January 15, although existing AI service providers had already been disconnected. Since October 2025. The investigation focuses on whether Meta abused its dominant position in European messaging markets by reserving WhatsApp’s AI access for itself.
Ribeira Confirm The decision “preserves choice for citizens across Europe about which AI assistants they want to use with WhatsApp, without making that decision for them.” Failure to comply may result in fines of up to 10% of Meta’s total global sales.
The dispute highlights a broader tension: AI companies want distribution on messaging platforms with billions of users, while platform owners want to monetize that access. A Separate study From the IMDEA Networks Institute in May, it found that ChatGPT, Cloud, Grok, and Perplexity all share user data with third-party trackers including Meta, Google, and TikTok, even when users opt out. Grok was the worst offender: Guest conversations are public by default, and the TikTok tracker receives webcam image metadata.
Meta has five business days to comply with the commission’s order while it plans its appeal.
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