European Union competition authorities have indicated that temporary measures could be introduced to prevent Meta Platforms from restricting artificial intelligence competitors’ access to its WhatsApp platform, as regulators examine potential abuse of market dominance.
The European Commission confirmed that it has issued a formal statement of objections to Meta, outlining alleged breaches of EU competition rules. Officials also signaled their intention to consider interim measures aimed at preventing serious and irreversible harm to rival AI providers during the course of the investigation. The move reflects a similar step taken in December by Italy’s antitrust authority.
EU competition chief Teresa Ribera emphasized the need to safeguard fair competition in the rapidly evolving AI sector. It was indicated that dominant technology companies must not be allowed to use their market position to gain undue advantages. Consideration is therefore being given to swift temporary measures to ensure competitors retain access to WhatsApp while the inquiry continues, and to prevent any lasting damage to competition within the European market.
Meta has rejected the necessity of regulatory intervention. The company maintained that consumers have access to numerous AI services through app stores, operating systems, devices, websites, and industry collaborations. It also argued that the European Commission’s assessment wrongly assumes that the WhatsApp Business API represents a critical distribution channel for AI chatbots.
On January 15, Meta introduced a policy limiting AI assistant access on WhatsApp to its own Meta AI service.
The Commission stated that any decision on interim measures will take into account Meta’s response and its procedural rights of defense.
The investigation highlights the EU’s continued resolve to enforce antitrust regulations, despite criticism from the United States regarding European scrutiny of major American technology firms.
In a related development, a court in Brazil recently suspended a temporary measure imposed by the country’s antitrust authority against Meta concerning the same matter.
