EU Tells Meta to Share WhatsApp With Rival AI Bots; Meta Cries Foul, Fines Loom 🚨

The European Commission ordered Meta on Monday to grant rival AI chatbots free access to WhatsApp's business messaging tools, escalating an antitrust fight that began when the company blocked competitors from its platform in October 2025. Commission Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera said the interim measures would remain in effect throughout the investigation, which launched in December 2025. "In rapidly evolving markets, competition can be lost long before a final decision is adopted," she said in a statement. The order requires Meta to reinstate access for third-party general-purpose AI assistants to the WhatsApp Business API under the same terms that existed before the ban.

Meta rejected the ruling as "regulatory overreach" and confirmed it will appeal. "The European Commission has decided that OpenAI and some of the largest companies in the world can use the paid-for WhatsApp Business product for free," the company said in a statement to Reuters. "This is regulatory overreach subsidised by the many European companies that pay. We will appeal." The Commission opened its probe after Meta amended its policy to permit only Meta AI on WhatsApp while excluding competing chatbots from the Business API. The revised policy took effect January 15, though existing AI providers had already been cut off since October 2025. Investigators are examining whether Meta abused its dominant position in European messaging markets by reserving WhatsApp's AI access exclusively for itself.

Ribera stressed that the decision "preserved choice for citizens across Europe on the AI assistants they want to use with WhatsApp, without that decision being made for them." Non-compliance could expose Meta to fines of up to 10% of its total global turnover. The Commission has given Meta five working days to comply while it prepares its appeal. The dispute underscores a broader standoff between AI companies seeking distribution on messaging platforms with billions of users and platform owners seeking to monetize that access.

Separately, a May study from IMDEA Networks Institute found that ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, and Perplexity all transmit user data to third-party trackers including Meta, Google, and TikTok, even when users opt out. According to the study, Grok was the worst offender, with guest conversations set to public by default and TikTok's tracker receiving webcam image metadata.