Adedokun Waliyu The European Union has ordered Meta to restore free access to WhatsApp for competing AI chatbots within five working days or face the risk of substantial fines.
The decision follows an antitrust investigation launched in December 2025 into Meta’s policy of restricting access to AI providers other than its own Meta AI service.
According to the European Commission, Meta must maintain access for rival AI assistants while the investigation is ongoing.
EU antitrust commissioner Teresa Ribera said the move was necessary to prevent serious and irreversible harm to competition in the rapidly growing AI assistant market.
The EU had previously warned Meta in February that it could impose temporary measures if the company did not reopen WhatsApp to competing AI services. In response, Meta introduced an access fee, but EU regulators rejected that proposal in April, arguing that it did not adequately address competition concerns.
European regulators stated that Meta’s fee structure appeared to be effectively equivalent to the earlier access ban and therefore failed to create fair conditions for competitors.
The European Commission said there is an urgent need to preserve competition in the expanding market for general-purpose AI assistants and to ensure that smaller companies and new entrants have a fair opportunity to compete with major technology firms.
The goal of the interim order is to restore third-party AI assistants’ access to WhatsApp under the same conditions that existed before Meta changed its policy in October 2025.
The Commission warned that if Meta intentionally or negligently fails to comply with the order, it could face fines of up to 10 percent of its annual global turnover.
This is the latest in a series of disputes between the EU and Meta.
In April, EU regulators accused Meta of failing to adequately prevent children under 13 from accessing its Facebook and Instagram platforms. Authorities are also examining how the company protects users’ mental and physical well-being and whether aspects of Facebook and Instagram have addictive features.
Meta is also appealing a €200 million fine imposed under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), legislation designed to limit anti-competitive behavior by large technology companies.
The DMA has faced criticism from several American technology firms and from officials in the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The dispute highlights the continuing tension between European regulators seeking to increase competition in digital markets and major technology companies seeking greater control over their platforms and AI ecosystems.
