Commission says the move allows time to discuss commitments in ongoing competition case
Meta will pause a fee it charged competitors for offering their chatbots on WhatsApp for one month, the European Commission confirmed on Tuesday.
The EU competition watchdog has been investigating Meta over the matter since December. The company first wanted to completely exclude third-party chatbots from WhatsApp before softening its position by offering access for a fee, which did not assuage the Commission.
But Meta’s decision to suspend these fees for one month was “a step in the right direction,” the Commission said on Tuesday, adding that the step amounted to interim measures Brussels might have imposed on Meta under the investigation otherwise.
“The Commission believes this creates adequate conditions to discuss commitments with Meta that would address our concerns on the substance of the case,” a spokesperson told Euractiv.
