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Meta criticises EU antitrust move against WhatsApp block on AI rivals

The European Commission seeks to prevent Meta from monopolizing AI access on WhatsApp, citing risks of serious market harm and dominance abuse in the AI assistant sector.

  • On Monday, the European Commission told Meta it intends to impose interim measures and sent a Statement of Objections over blocking third-party AI assistants on WhatsApp.
  • Meta updated its WhatsApp Business policy in October 2025, the restrictions fully took effect on January 15, 2026, and an EU probe began in December 2025 into Meta's market dominance.
  • The European Commission says the updates effectively banned third‑party AI assistants on WhatsApp, naming OpenAI's ChatGPT and Microsoft's Copilot as blocked, with OpenAI leaving after serving over 50 million users.
  • The European Commission said that if Brussels rules against Meta, it could face fines and orders to change WhatsApp integrations, and regulators note emergency measures are rarely used.
  • Viewing WhatsApp as a key gateway, the European Commission says dominance risks blocking rivals, with interim measures possibly forcing Meta to restore third‑party AI assistant access, Ribera said.
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The European Commission has ordered US technology company Meta to allow artificial intelligence service providers access to its social network WhatsApp, and Brussels is considering imposing temporary measures against Meta to allow these providers access, the European Commission said.

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  • 34% of the sources lean Left, 33% of the sources are Center, 33% of the sources lean Right
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Politico Europe broke the news in Brussels, Belgium on Monday, February 9, 2026.
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