European Union officials are demanding that Meta Platforms undo restrictions they claim unfairly block competing artificial intelligence companies from full WhatsApp integration.
The European Commission announced Wednesday that Meta’s solution of imposing fees on third-party AI services to access WhatsApp fails to address antitrust concerns adequately.
The commission launched its probe last year amid worries that WhatsApp was preventing rival artificial intelligence firms from providing their digital assistants through the messaging service.
Regulators determined that Meta’s March decision to implement charges for third-party AI access essentially mirrors the previous outright prohibition.
“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,” Teresa Ribera, the commission’s executive vice president overseeing competition, said in a statement.
The December investigation focused on updated terms that prevented AI chatbot providers from utilizing communication tools to interact with users.
Brussels plans to issue a directive requiring Meta to restore third-party chatbot access under the original conditions while the case remains under review.
Meta responded by arguing the commission’s ruling forces the company to offer services without compensation, essentially subsidizing competitors rather than promoting fair competition.
The company explained this could result in scenarios where “a small bakery in France paying to use the service to take croissant orders will be picking up the tab for OpenAI,” referring to one of its rivals. “Small European businesses shouldn’t foot OpenAI’s bill.”
