The European Union has informed Meta that it must provide free access to WhatsApp for AI chatbots operated by competing companies.
The European Commission stated that the company would be required to sustain that access while it completes an antitrust probe into the tech giant’s choice to block AI providers—excluding Meta AI—from the messaging service.
It indicated that the action was necessary to avert “serious and irreparable harm to competition in this expanding market caused by Meta’s behavior,” which it claimed appeared to violate EU competition regulations.
Meta has responded with anger, accusing the Commission of “regulatory overreach.” It has announced plans to appeal.
The EU noted that it launched its investigation in December 2025 after Meta prohibited third-party general-purpose AI assistants from the WhatsApp for Business API.
This appeared to represent an abuse of Meta’s dominant position in European markets, according to the EU.
Therefore, as an interim step while its inquiry continues, it has given Meta five working days to restore access for third-party general-purpose AI assistants to the WhatsApp for Business API under the same terms and conditions that were previously in effect.
“In rapidly evolving markets, competition can be lost long before a final decision is adopted,” said Teresa Ribera, the Commission’s executive vice-president for clean, just and competitive transition.
“This is why these interim measures will remain in place for the duration of the investigation.”
She added that the decision “preserved choice for citizens across Europe on the AI assistants they want to use with WhatsApp, without that decision being made for them.”
The Commission warned that if Meta fails to comply with its interim decision, it could face a fine of up to 10% of its total turnover.
However, Meta argued that the decision would allow highly valuable AI companies to access WhatsApp without any payment.
“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,” it said in a statement.
“This is regulatory overreach subsidised by the many European companies that pay. We will appeal.”
The dispute is the most recent illustration of the tense relationship between European regulators and major US tech firms.
Last year, Meta cautioned about a “worse experience” for European users as a result of EU regulations.
That came after a fine imposed on Meta the previous week—just one of many penalties issued by the EU, which insists it is acting in consumers’ interests against tech companies seeking to exploit their market dominance.
The conflict has also become political, with the Trump administration claiming that the EU—and other jurisdictions—are unfairly targeting American tech companies.
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