The European Commission has ordered Meta to restore WhatsApp AI chatbot access to third-party providers, requiring the company to keep those channels open for the duration of the bloc’s antitrust investigation. Meta has until Monday, 15 June, to comply.
The ruling follows six months of conflict over WhatsApp’s business API. Meta cut off third-party AI providers from reaching users through the platform in October, prompting the EU to open an investigation in December. In February, EU authorities told Meta it had been breaching antitrust law. The company then reinstated access in March, but charged for it. The Commission said that fee was “equivalent to the previous access ban.”
How the WhatsApp AI chatbot access order works
The interim measures, announced on 9 June, require Meta to restore WhatsApp AI chatbot access on the same terms in place before October. They remain active until the investigation concludes or until June 2029, whichever comes first.
Teresa Ribera, the Commission’s executive vice-president, explained the reasoning: “In rapidly evolving markets, competition can be lost long before a final decision is adopted. This is why these interim measures will remain in place for the duration of the investigation, in order to prevent harm that would be almost impossible to repair. These interim measures will safeguard competition in the growing market for AI assistants, by preserving a key entry point to reach consumers in Europe.”
The EU’s case rests on the argument that WhatsApp has held a dominant position in consumer messaging in the bloc since at least 2023, and that Meta abused that position to shield its own Meta AI from competition. The Commission said blocking rival providers amounted to “a refusal to provide access to an infrastructure developed for and previously open to third parties.”
The order also reflects the EU’s broader concerns about AI market competition. The Commission argued that restricting WhatsApp AI chatbot access at this point in the market’s development could permanently alter competitive dynamics, since reaching hundreds of millions of European users through a dominant platform is not something rivals can easily replicate elsewhere. In May, European lawmakers agreed on a simplified version of the EU AI Act to speed up adoption and reduce compliance burdens.
Meta contests WhatsApp AI chatbot access ruling as “regulatory overreach”
Meta responded immediately and said it would appeal. A spokesperson called the ruling “regulatory overreach” and argued that the Commission incorrectly assumes WhatsApp’s business API is a central distribution channel for AI chatbots. “The European Commission has decided that OpenAI and some of the largest companies in the world can use the paid-for WhatsApp Business product for free,” the spokesperson said. The Commission noted these are not its final findings.
If the EU ultimately confirms an antitrust violation, Meta faces a fine of up to 10 percent of its annual global turnover.
The case is one of several active legal challenges against Meta. Ireland’s Coimisiún na Meán opened two investigations into the company’s recommender systems and compliance with the Digital Services Act. The EU found in April that Facebook and Instagram breached the DSA by failing to protect children under 13. US courts ruled in March that Meta’s platforms were designed to be addictive to minors and enable child sexual exploitation. Earlier this week, Meta disclosed that roughly 34,000 Instagram accounts were compromised after attackers found a vulnerability in Meta AI, with the breach lasting more than a month before disclosure.