EU Orders Meta to Restore Free Third-Party AI Access to WhatsApp, Rejecting Fee-Based Alternative
Summary
The EU orders Meta to restore free third-party AI access to WhatsApp's Business API, ruling that blocking rival chatbots and charging fees for access constitutes an abuse of Meta's dominant position in European messaging markets, as Meta vows to appeal the decision.
Key Points
- The EU has ordered Meta to stop blocking rival AI chatbots from WhatsApp's Business API, requiring the company to restore its pre-October 2025 terms that allowed free third-party AI assistant access.
- The European Commission, which opened an antitrust investigation in December 2025, finds that Meta is abusing its dominant position in the European messaging market by restricting competing AI assistants, and rejects Meta's revised policy of charging a fee for third-party access as insufficient.
- Meta plans to appeal the decision, calling it regulatory overreach, while EU competition chief Teresa Ribera warns that in fast-moving markets, competition can be permanently lost before a final ruling is reached.