Briefly
- EU regulators ordered Meta to revive rival AI chatbots’ entry to WhatsApp Enterprise instruments.
- Meta slammed the choice as “regulatory overreach” and vowed to enchantment.
- The case facilities on Meta’s determination to order WhatsApp AI integrations for Meta AI, with potential fines reaching 10% of worldwide income for non-compliance.
The European Fee ordered Meta on Monday to offer rival AI chatbots free entry to WhatsApp’s enterprise messaging instruments, escalating an antitrust battle that started when Meta blocked rivals from its platform final October, Reuters studies.
Fee Govt Vice President Teresa Ribera mentioned the interim measures would stay in place at some point of the investigation, which began in December 2025. “In quickly evolving markets, competitors will be misplaced lengthy earlier than a ultimate determination is adopted,” she mentioned in an announcement.
The order requires Meta to reinstate entry for third-party general-purpose AI assistants to the WhatsApp Enterprise API beneath the identical phrases that existed earlier than the ban.
Meta referred to as the choice “regulatory overreach” and mentioned it will enchantment. “The European Fee has determined that OpenAI and among the largest firms on the planet can use the paid-for WhatsApp Enterprise product without spending a dime,” the corporate mentioned in an announcement to Reuters. “That is regulatory overreach subsidised by the numerous European firms that pay. We are going to enchantment.”
The Fee started its probe after Meta modified its coverage to permit solely Meta AI on WhatsApp whereas blocking competing chatbots from the Enterprise API. The coverage shift took impact January 15, although current AI suppliers had already been lower off since October of 2025. The investigation facilities on whether or not Meta abused its dominant place in European messaging markets by reserving WhatsApp’s AI entry for itself.
Ribera emphasised the choice “preserved alternative for residents throughout Europe on the AI assistants they wish to use with WhatsApp, with out that call being made for them.” Non-compliance may set off fines as much as 10% of Meta’s whole world turnover.
The row highlights a broader stress: AI firms need distribution on messaging platforms with billions of customers, whereas platform homeowners wish to monetize that entry. A separate examine from IMDEA Networks Institute in Might discovered that ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, and Perplexity all share consumer information with third-party trackers together with Meta, Google, and TikTok—even when customers decide out. Grok was the worst offender: Visitor conversations are public by default, and TikTok’s tracker obtained webcam picture metadata.
Meta has 5 working days to adjust to the Fee’s order whereas it plans its enchantment.
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