US EditionEU warns Meta WhatsApp AI fee breaches antitrust rules, orders rollback
Regulators say Meta’s fee for third-party AI access could harm competition and lock more than 3 billion WhatsApp users into Meta AI.
- The European Commission intends to order Meta to reinstate third-party artificial intelligence assistants on WhatsApp, rejecting the company's recent fee-based remedy as insufficient.
- Meta began charging fees in March to address a European Union probe finding it had "effectively" barred third-party artificial intelligence assistants, breaching competition rules. Antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said the company's conduct "appears to be an abuse of its dominant position."
- European Union regulators fear locking WhatsApp's more than three billion users into Meta AI could give the company a commercial advantage over rival chatbots, particularly smaller market entrants.
- The European Commission extended its investigation to cover the entire European Economic Area, including Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway, while Italy was previously excluded pending its own separate probe.
- This investigation, opened in December, represents the 27-nation bloc's broader efforts to regulate Big Tech firms, regulatory actions that have drawn the ire of President Donald Trump, who opposes European oversight of United States companies.
51 Articles
51 Articles
Third-party IA assistants should pay a fee to operate in the implementation of the Objective. The European Commission speaks of abuse of position as it is an obstacle to free competition and threatens to impose a revision.
Meta faces risk of EU restrictions over WhatsApp AI concern
Meta Platforms Inc. has been threatened with an interim European Union ban on policies that allegedly block rival AI firms from operating on WhatsApp, unless the tech giant offers fixes that appease the bloc's concerns.
According to the Messenger Service WhatsApp, the EU only allows its own artificial intelligence "Meta AI", which violates EU law. The US company is now facing coercive measures.
EU Orders Meta to Reinstate Rival AI Assistants on WhatsApp
The European Commission has decided to order Meta Platforms to allow rival AI assistants on WhatsApp without an access fee to ensure fair competition, as their current policy appears to infringe EU competition rules. Interim measures will remain until the investigation concludes, expanding its probe to Italy.
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