EU Notifies Meta Over Competition Rules Breach
In a damning preliminary assessment, Brussels regulators determined Meta's policy shift threatens to freeze out competitors from the general-purpose AI assistant sector, prompting consideration of emergency interim measures to force a reversal during the ongoing probe.
Meta—the parent company behind Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger—operates its proprietary AI tool, Meta AI, which now stands as the sole AI assistant permitted on WhatsApp following a controversial October 2025 terms-of-service update.
According to the EU Commission, Meta modified its WhatsApp Business Solution Terms last October, effectively shuttering third-party AI assistant access to the platform's user base. By January, Meta AI had achieved exclusive AI presence on WhatsApp.
The regulatory body's preliminary finding concludes this conduct likely breaches EU antitrust regulations.
Investigators believe Meta maintains a dominant market position across the European Economic Area for consumer communication applications, primarily through WhatsApp's massive user base. The Commission further contends Meta may be weaponizing this dominance by denying WhatsApp access to competing AI assistants.
The restrictive policy could create insurmountable barriers and permanently sideline smaller AI rivals, regulators warned.
Meta will receive an opportunity to respond to the allegations and mount a defense before any final determination.
Should the EU Commission find sufficient evidence after reviewing Meta's response, it may impose interim measures requiring immediate action—though such orders wouldn't predetermine the investigation's ultimate conclusions.
Teresa Ribera, the EU Commission executive vice-president for clean, just, and competitive transition, framed the action as protecting innovation: "Artificial intelligence is bringing incredible innovations to consumers, and one of these is the emerging market of AI assistants. We must protect effective competition in this vibrant field, which means we cannot allow dominant tech companies to illegally leverage their dominance to give themselves an unfair advantage."
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