EU orders Meta to stop blocking rival AI chatbots on WhatsApp
Key takeaways
- It’s an interim measure while the European Commission investigates the ban.
- miss.cabul/Shutterstock The European Union has ordered Meta to open Whats App to AI chatbots from rival companies again, for free, as it investigates the messaging app's owner over potential antitrust violations.
- EU officials opened an antitrust investigation into the new policy in December and then warned the company earlier this year that it can take interim measures against it.
It’s an interim measure while the European Commission investigates the ban.
miss.cabul/Shutterstock The European Union has ordered Meta to open Whats App to AI chatbots from rival companies again, for free, as it investigates the messaging app's owner over potential antitrust violations. Meta introduced a new policy in October 2025 that banned third-party AI chatbots from the Whats App for Business API, making Meta AI the only chatbot that can access the service. Before the ban, companies could send notifications through WhatsApp, such as order alerts, using other AI assistants.
EU officials opened an antitrust investigation into the new policy in December and then warned the company earlier this year that it can take interim measures against it. In its announcement, the commission explained that Meta has held a dominant position in the European messaging app market since at least 2023. As such, Meta seems to be abusing its dominant position by preventing competing AI assistants from using the WhatsApp API.