The European Commission has ordered Meta to immediately restore free access to WhatsApp for competing general-purpose AI assistants and to maintain those conditions
until the conclusion of its ongoing antitrust investigation. The Commission considers this necessary to prevent serious and potentially irreparable harm to competition in the rapidly developing market for AI assistants.
The decision follows a series of enforcement steps initiated by the Commission in response to Meta’s policy changes affecting access to WhatsApp’s Business API. In December 2025, the Commission opened a formal antitrust investigation into Meta’s decision to restrict access for third-party AI providers while maintaining access for its own assistant, Meta AI. In February 2026, it issued a Statement of Objections indicating that interim measures might be required to prevent competitive harm. A supplementary Statement of Objections followed in April 2026, signaling the Commission’s intention to require Meta to restore access conditions for third-party AI services.
Interim measures decision
In its latest decision, the Commission concludes that interim measures are justified to safeguard competition in the emerging market for general-purpose AI assistants. It finds that Meta, at first sight, has held a dominant position in the EEA market for consumer communication applications since at least January 2023.
The Commission further considers that Meta may have abused this position by restricting access to the WhatsApp Business Application Programming Interface (API) for competing general-purpose AI assistants. On 15 October 2025, Meta introduced a policy prohibiting third-party AI assistants from accessing the WhatsApp Business API, effectively limiting access to its own service, Meta AI. The Commission views this as, at first sight, a refusal to supply access to infrastructure that had previously been open to third parties.
Although Meta later revised its policy on 4 March 2026 to re-allow third-party AI assistants, it introduced fees that the Commission considers, at first sight, equivalent in practice to a continued denial of access.
The Commission stresses that urgent action is required to prevent damage to the competitive structure of the emerging AI assistant market, particularly at a critical stage when new entrants and smaller competitors could still challenge established players.
Measures ordered
The decision requires Meta to reinstate access for third-party general-purpose AI assistants to the WhatsApp Business API on the same terms and conditions that applied prior to 15 October 2025, when access was free of charge. These terms must remain in place until the Commission reaches a final decision in the case.
Meta is required to comply with the interim measures within five working days. The Commission notes that this step is necessary to preserve the effectiveness of EU competition enforcement and to ensure that any final decision on the legality of Meta’s conduct can be fully effective.
The Commission’s substantive investigation into the case remains ongoing. Photo by Yuri Samoilov, Wikimedia commons.