The European Commission orders Meta to restore access to WhatsApp for rival AI assistants

Brussels – The European Commission has ordered Meta to restore access to WhatsApp for third-party general-purpose AI assistants, adopting interim measures as part of an ongoing antitrust investigation. The intervention aims to prevent the restrictions introduced by the platform from irreversibly distorting competition in an emerging market such as that of AI assistants, which is considered strategic for the future of the digital economy.

According to Brussels, in rapidly evolving digital markets, a competitive advantage can be established long before the conclusion of formal proceedings. This means that—without timely intervention—the authority’s final decision would risk coming at a time when the effects on the market are already irreversible. It is precisely on this basis that the Commission has decided to activate the instrument of interim measures, ordering the immediate restoration of access.

This decision forms part of a broader focus by European institutions on regulating large digital platforms and their impact on emerging artificial intelligence markets.

Ribera: “We must act before competition is irreparably compromised”

In explaining the decision, the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President for a Clean, Fair and Competitive Transition, Teresa Ribera, emphasised the need for immediate action to protect the market’s competitive structure.

“We have intervened to require Meta to restore access to WhatsApp for competing AI assistants while we assess whether the restrictions may breach EU competition rules,” said Ribera. “In rapidly evolving markets, competition can be undermined long before a final decision is taken,” she added.

The Vice-President explained that the measures will remain in force for the duration of the investigation, precisely “to prevent damage that would be almost impossible to repair.”

According to the Commission, the key issue is WhatsApp’s role as essential digital infrastructure: access to the platform is a crucial channel for reaching European consumers. Ribera emphasised that the measures “safeguard competition in the growing market for AI assistants, preserving a key access point such as WhatsApp and enabling businesses to innovate, scale up, and reach their full potential.”

The former Spanish minister also highlighted the user perspective, emphasising that today’s action aims to “preserve European citizens’ freedom of choice regarding the AI assistant they prefer to use on WhatsApp,
without that decision being made for them.”

The investigation into Meta, the API shutdown and the risk of being excluded from the market

The case stems from an investigation launched by the Commission in December 2025, following a change by Meta to the terms of access to the WhatsApp Business API, the technical interface that allows businesses to connect their systems to the messaging app. The European authorities’ attention has focused on a decision adopted on 15 October 2025, in which the platform introduced a new policy excluding generic third-party AI assistants from using its infrastructure.

In practice, from that date onwards, only Meta AI’s proprietary assistant retained access to the platform, while competitors were excluded. According to the Commission, this conduct could, at least on a preliminary basis, constitute an abuse of a dominant position pursuant to Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), as it is comparable to a refusal to grant access to a previously open digital infrastructure.

In March 2026, Meta partially revised its position, reopening access to third-party operators but introducing a payment system for the use of the API. And it is precisely this element that has raised new concerns with the Commission. According to Brussels, the new pricing model could have an effect equivalent to a market closure, as the costs would be prohibitive for many operators, particularly start-ups and new entrants to the sector.

The Commission emphasises that the market for AI assistants is still in its infancy and highly sensitive: competitive conditions are only just taking shape and may be decisively influenced by the choices made by the major platforms. In this context, restricting access to infrastructure such as WhatsApp or making it economically difficult risks permanently shaping the sector’s development.

For this reason, Brussels has ordered Meta to restore access within five working days to the conditions in place prior to 15 October 2025, i.e. free of charge and without discriminatory restrictions. The measures will remain in force until the conclusion of the antitrust investigation, which has no set deadline.

In the event of non-compliance with the decision, the Commission may impose fines of up to 10 per cent of the company’s total annual turnover, as well as daily penalties of up to 5 per cent of average daily turnover.