The European Union has launched a formal investigation into Meta over antitrust concerns regarding WhatsApp’s AI restrictions. According to the EU, the investigation aims to “prevent the possibility of irreparable damage to competition in the AI sector” and follows Meta’s announcement in October of changes to its conditions for companies that prohibit companies from distributing third-party AI chatbots using the platform’s API.
“As a result of the new policy, competing AI providers may be blocked from contacting customers via WhatsApp,” the European Commission’s announcement said. “Meanwhile, Meta’s proprietary AI service ‘Meta AI’ will continue to be accessible to users on the platform.”
The updated WhatsApp policy will come into effect on October 15th for AI providers not yet offering services on the platform and will apply to existing AI providers on WhatsApp from January 15th, 2026. OpenAI and Microsoft announced earlier this year that they would remove ChatGPT and Copilot from their platforms in response to policy changes.
The investigation will assess whether Meta breached EU law “prohibiting the abuse of a dominant position” that makes it difficult for smaller providers to compete with its services. There is no deadline for research. If Meta is found to have violated European Union antitrust laws, it could be fined up to 10% of the company’s global annual revenue, or $16.45 billion (based on Meta’s 2024 revenue).
“The AI market is booming in Europe and beyond,” European Competition Commissioner Teresa Rivera said in a statement. “We must act to ensure European citizens and businesses fully benefit from this technological revolution, and to prevent dominant digital incumbents from abusing their power to crowd out innovative competitors.”
