European Union regulators have issued a stern warning to Meta Platforms, threatening to compel the company to reverse a recent policy change regarding WhatsApp's access for rival AI chatbots. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm and chief antitrust enforcer, has deemed Meta's efforts to resolve an ongoing antitrust investigation as unsatisfactory, stating that the messaging app is effectively limiting the ability of third-party AI companies to integrate their services.

The commission initiated its investigation last year amidst concerns that WhatsApp was actively blocking competing artificial intelligence companies from deploying their AI assistants on the platform. In a move to address these concerns, Meta decided in March to begin charging third-party AI providers for access. However, EU officials view this new pricing structure as fundamentally equivalent to the outright ban it previously had in place.

Teresa Ribera, the commission’s executive vice president overseeing competition, stated that "Replacing the legal ban with pricing that has a similar effect does not change our preliminary view that Meta’s conduct appears to be an abuse of its dominant position, that may seriously harm competition on the market for AI assistants." This stance reinforces the belief that Meta's actions are detrimental to fair competition within the burgeoning AI assistant market.

The bloc has made its intentions clear: it plans to issue an order for Meta to reinstate access for third-party chatbots under the previous, presumably free, terms. This mandate would remain in effect until the commission reaches a final decision on the case. Meta, however, has strongly pushed back against this prospect, arguing that such a decision would force the company to provide its service for free, thereby subsidizing select competitors. Meta explicitly stated that "a small bakery in France paying to use the service to take croissant orders will be picking up the tab for OpenAI," emphasizing its position that small European businesses should not bear the financial burden of supporting its rivals.