2026-04-15 16:10
publication
2026-04-15 16:10
On Wednesday, the European Commission presented Meta with a new list of allegations of violating EU regulations and ordered the application of interim measures. This concerns the company's temporary suspension of a policy that prohibits external suppliers from using artificial intelligence (AI) assistants to contact customers via WhatsApp.
The EC as recently as December last year initiated a formal antitrust investigation against Meta in connection with the changes introduced by the company to the regulations of WhatsApp for companies. They prohibited third-party AI companies from accessing the WhatsApp API; the regulations covered new suppliers in October last year, and existing ones – in January this year.
Previously, third-party companies could integrate their systems with WhatsApp to communicate with customers. Several AI vendors were eager to use this functionality. Including, among others: OpenAI, a ChatGPT provider that allowed users to interact with its chatbot directly within WhatsApp, for example to answer questions.
Meta explained that chatbots generate traffic and burden the system and announced that it wants the WhatsApp API to focus on its original purpose, i.e. business communication.
However, this did not convince the European Commission, which accused the company of violating EU competition rules and using its dominant market position to eliminate competition and prevent external suppliers from offering their services via WhatsApp. Especially since Meta's own product had no such restrictions.
In fact, Meta announced in March that it had introduced changes and restored access to WhatsApp for external AI assistants, provided that the suppliers pay the appropriate fee. The Commission found that such a policy was little different from an access ban.
In a letter sent on Wednesday, the EC ordered the company to temporarily restore functionality on the same conditions as before the policy change in October 2025, until the explanatory proceedings are completed and a final decision regarding Meta is made. This solution is intended to prevent changes in the company's policy from causing serious and irreversible damage to the market.
– Displacement of competitors in rapidly changing markets, such as the artificial intelligence market, is exactly the type of behavior that interim measures are intended to prevent. Replacing the legal ban with prices (…) does not change our initial position that the behavior of Meta seems to constitute an abuse of a dominant position that may seriously harm competition – said Teresa Ribera, deputy head of the European Commission on Wednesday.
Meta now has the opportunity to respond to the EC's allegations and the right to defend itself.
From Brussels Jowita Kiwnik Pargana (PAP)
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