EU orders Meta to give rival AI chatbots free WhatsApp access

Brussels moved on June 9, 2026, to force Meta Platforms to give rival AI chatbots free access to WhatsApp while it investigates whether the company used its market power to shut competitors out of one of the fastest-growing entry points for consumer AI. The European Commission said the interim order was needed because WhatsApp is a major route for general-purpose assistants to reach users, and because Meta’s conduct could cause serious and irreparable harm to competition in the European Economic Area.

The case has quickly become one of the European Union’s sharpest tests of whether a dominant platform can control the next phase of AI distribution. The Commission opened formal antitrust proceedings on December 4, 2025, after complaints from The Interaction Company of California, French startup Agentik and a Spanish rival. It then sent Meta a Statement of Objections on February 9, 2026, saying Meta likely dominated the EEA consumer communication-app market through WhatsApp and that excluding third-party AI assistants could damage competition in the AI-assistant market.

Meta’s policy change on October 15, 2025, triggered the dispute. For AI providers already on WhatsApp, the updated terms took effect on January 15, 2026, and the Commission later said the fees introduced by Meta were too high for competitors to build products sustainably on the platform. After a fresh charge sheet in April 2026, and an oral hearing on May 5, 2026, the Commission stepped in with an interim measure requiring Meta to restore access to the WhatsApp Business API on the same terms that existed before October 15, 2025. Meta has five working days to comply.

Teresa Ribera, the Commission’s antitrust chief, framed the issue as more than a contract dispute. She warned that Meta appeared to be trying to use WhatsApp’s huge reach to advantage its own AI assistant while keeping rivals out. The measure can remain in force for as long as the investigation continues, or until June 2029 at the latest.

The order does not cover Italy, where the Italian Competition Authority already imposed interim measures in December 2025 after opening its own investigation into Meta AI’s integration into WhatsApp in July 2025 and expanding that probe in November 2025 to include the updated WhatsApp Business Solution Terms. If the Commission ultimately finds a breach, Meta could face fines of up to 10% of its global annual turnover. Meta rejected the ruling as regulatory overreach and said it would appeal, setting up a wider fight over whether Brussels can stop AI gatekeeping before distribution hardens around a few dominant platforms.