European Commission orders Meta to restore free third-party AI chatbot access in WhatsApp amid antitrust probe

The Commission said the conduct risks serious and irreparable harm to competition and preliminarily concluded interim measures were needed.

It found Meta held a dominant position in the EEA consumer communication applications market since at least January 2023 and abused it by preventing competing assistants from using the WhatsApp for Business API.

The Commission viewed the ban as a refusal to provide access to an infrastructure previously open to third parties.

Meta later accepted third-party assistants in March but required a fee, which the Commission said is equivalent to the prior access ban.

The order returns access to the pre-October 2025 status quo and requires maintenance until a final decision is adopted.