European Union regulators are moving to force Meta Platforms to restore broader WhatsApp access for rival Artificial Intelligence chatbots, intensifying an antitrust case centered on whether the company is using its market power to restrict competition. The European Commission said Meta’s latest attempt to address concerns, by charging third-party Artificial Intelligence companies for access, does not resolve its objections and may continue to block effective participation by competing assistants on the platform.
The commission, the 27-nation bloc’s executive arm and top antitrust enforcer, opened the investigation last year after examining whether WhatsApp was preventing competing Artificial Intelligence companies from offering their assistants through the messaging app. When Brussels opened its investigation in December, officials said they were scrutinizing new terms and conditions that blocked providers of Artificial Intelligence chatbots from using a tool to communicate with customers. Officials said Meta’s decision in March to start charging third-party Artificial Intelligence providers for access was essentially equivalent to the ban it had in place.
Teresa Ribera, the commission’s executive vice president overseeing competition, said replacing the legal ban with pricing that has a similar effect does not alter the preliminary assessment that Meta’s conduct appears to be an abuse of its dominant position and could seriously harm competition in the market for Artificial Intelligence assistants. The bloc said it intends to issue its order to reinstate access for third-party chatbots under previous terms until it reaches a final decision on the case.
Meta argued that the commission’s move would force it to provide the service for free and would amount to subsidizing selected companies instead of encouraging genuine competition. The company said the decision could shift costs onto smaller business users of WhatsApp. It cited the example that “a small bakery in France paying to use the service to take croissant orders will be picking up the tab for OpenAI,” and added that “Small European businesses shouldn’t foot OpenAI’s bill.”
