The European Commission today forced Meta to restore access to third-party AI assistants to WhatsApp, until it completes an investigation into the company, stating that this is essential to prevent “irreparable damage” to competition in the sector.
This decision comes after, in February, the European Commission notified Meta about a potential abuse of a dominant position in the market, after the technology company announced in October an update to the terms of WhatsApp Business that prevented the use of third-party Artificial Intelligence (AI) assistants in the application.
In reaction to this notification from the European Commission, Meta decided, in March, to allow the use of these assistants again, against payment of a fee, which the community executive considered to be, “in practice, equivalent to the previous prohibition of access”, since the fee in question is “very high”.
In a statement released today, the European Commission considers it necessary to force Meta to reinstate access for third-party AI assistants to WhatsApp “to prevent serious and irreparable damage to competition in the growing market for general-purpose AI assistants.”
“The change in Meta’s policy risks harming competition at a crucial time for the development of this market, when smaller operators and new competitors can challenge large, already established players”, says the executive.
Thus, the European Commission orders Meta to “restore access for third-party general-purpose AI assistants to WhatsApp Business, under the same terms and conditions that were in force before October 15, 2025, when such access was free for all such AI assistants.”
“Meta must maintain this access under these conditions until the Commission adopts a final decision on the case. This is necessary to guarantee the effectiveness of the Commission’s powers in terms of applying competition law, as well as any final decision that may be adopted regarding the legality of Meta’s conduct”, it reads.
Meta now has up to five working days to comply with the order announced today by the European Commission.
Quoted in the statement, the vice-president of the European Commission responsible for Clean, Fair and Competitive Transition, Teresa Ribera, highlights that it is necessary to take this provisional measure because, “in rapidly evolving markets, competitiveness can be lost” in the time it takes the European Commission to reach a final decision.
“It is for this reason that these provisional measures will remain in force throughout the investigation, in order to avoid damage that would be practically impossible to repair”, he states.
The commissioner emphasizes that the decision taken today will “safeguard competition in the growing market for AI assistants, preserving an essential channel to reach consumers in Europe — WhatsApp — and allowing AI companies to innovate, gain scale and fully realize their potential”.
“With the decision adopted today, we also ensure that European citizens continue to be able to choose the AI assistants they want to use with WhatsApp, instead of this choice being imposed on them”, he adds.
Meta is the owner of the social networks Facebook and Instagram, as well as communication applications for consumers, such as WhatsApp and Messenger.
Source: www.noticiasaominuto.com.br
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