TL;DRThe EU ordered Meta to restore WhatsApp access for rival AI assistants within five days, citing “serious and irreparable damage to competition.” Meta will appeal. The investigation has no deadline and fines could reach 10% of global revenue.
The European Commission has ordered Meta to “restore free access to WhatsApp for rival general purpose AI assistants” within five working days. The interim measures, announced on Tuesday, are designed to prevent what the Commission called “serious and irreparable damage to competition” in the AI assistant market.
Meta said it would appeal. The company described the order as a decision that “OpenAI and some of the largest companies in the world can use the paid-for WhatsApp Business product for free.”
What happened
Meta introduced changes to WhatsApp Business that critics said unfairly prevented rival AI providers from offering their services through the platform. The specifics of the restrictions have not been fully detailed in public filings, but the Commission found them serious enough to warrant interim measures before completing its investigation.
