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The European Union launched a Formal investigation into Meta Due to antitrust concerns with AI limitations in WhatsApp. The investigation aims to “prevent any potential irreparable harm to competition in the field of artificial intelligence” according to the European Union, and comes after a meta-announcement Changes to WhatsApp terms for businesses in October which will prevent companies from using the platform’s API to distribute third-party AI-powered chatbots.
“As a result of the new policy, competing AI service providers may be prevented from reaching their customers via WhatsApp,” the European Commission’s announcement said. “Meta AI, on the other hand, will remain accessible to users on the platform.”
WhatsApp’s updated policy went into effect on October 15 for AI service providers that do not already have services on the platform, and will apply to existing AI providers on WhatsApp starting January 15, 2026. OpenAI and Microsoft responded to policy changes earlier this year by announcing the removal of ChatGPT and Copilot from the platform.
The investigation will assess whether Meta violated EU laws “prohibiting the abuse of a dominant position” to make it difficult for smaller providers to compete with its own services. There is no deadline for the investigation. If Meta is ruled to have violated the bloc’s antitrust rules, it could face fines of up to 10 percent of the company’s global annual revenue, which amounts to $16.45 billion (based on Meta’s 2024 earnings).
“AI markets are booming in Europe and beyond,” European Competition Commissioner Teresa Ribera said in the announcement. “We must ensure that European citizens and businesses can fully benefit from this technological revolution and work to prevent dominant digital companies from abusing their power to crowd out innovative competitors.”