European Union antitrust regulators have ordered Meta Platforms to restore free access for third-party artificial intelligence chatbots on WhatsApp, marking a significant escalation in the bloc’s scrutiny of the tech giant’s business practices.
The European Commission (EC) said on Wednesday that Meta must allow rival general-purpose AI assistants to access WhatsApp on the same terms that existed before October 2025 and maintain that access until the conclusion of an ongoing antitrust investigation.
The move comes as regulators seek to prevent what they described as “serious and irreparable harm” to competition in the rapidly expanding artificial intelligence market.
The Commission launched its investigation in December after Meta barred third-party chatbot providers from using WhatsApp’s platform. In February, regulators indicated that interim measures might be necessary to prevent lasting damage to competition while the probe continued.
According to the EC, Meta has held a dominant position in the European Economic Area’s consumer communication applications market since at least January 2023. Regulators argued that the company may have abused that position by blocking competing AI assistants from accessing the WhatsApp Business Application Programming Interface (API).
“The measures are intended to preserve effective competition in a growing market while the Commission completes its investigation,” the regulator said in a statement.
The Commission said Meta’s original ban amounted, at first sight, to a refusal to provide access to infrastructure that had previously been available to third-party developers.
Although Meta partially reversed its policy in March by allowing external AI assistants back onto WhatsApp, it introduced access fees that regulators viewed as effectively maintaining the restriction.
The Commission concluded that charging rivals for access under those conditions was equivalent to the previous ban and could hinder competition in the AI sector.
Under the interim order, Meta must restore free access for third-party AI chatbot providers, returning conditions to those in place before the restrictions were introduced. The company will be required to maintain those terms until the Commission reaches a final decision in the case.
The ruling highlights increasing regulatory pressure on major technology companies in Europe, particularly as competition intensifies in the artificial intelligence industry. Regulators have repeatedly stressed the importance of ensuring that dominant digital platforms do not use their market power to limit access for emerging AI competitors.
Meta has not yet publicly commented on the Commission’s latest order.
