Meta’s new restrictions may be in violation of EU competition rules that ban companies from abusing their dominant market position.
The European Commission (EC) has opened an antitrust investigation against Meta to determine whether the company’s policy restricting third-party AI tools on WhatsApp violates the European Union’s competition regulations, the commission said in a statement released on Dec. 4.
In October, WhatsApp, owned by Meta, updated its terms, limiting third-party developers and providers of AI tools from accessing WhatsApp Business Solutions, a tool that allows businesses to communicate with users.
The restriction only applies when AI is the primary service being offered to users. Third-party AI tools can still be used for ancillary or support purposes, such as offering automated customer support via the platform.
“The Commission is concerned that such new policy may prevent third party AI providers from offering their services through WhatsApp in the European Economic Area (‘EEA’),” the statement said.
“On the other hand, Meta’s own AI service ‘Meta AI’ would remain accessible to users on the platform.”
Meta’s updated terms for WhatsApp’s third-party AI providers will take effect on Jan. 15, 2026, for providers already on WhatsApp, while for AI providers new to WhatsApp, the update has already been applicable since Oct. 15. Developers who sign up after Oct. 15 must adhere to the new rules from the start.
The EC said that several AI providers already offer access to AI assistants via WhatsApp, allowing users to use AI tools for a variety of purposes, including generating content and answering questions.
As such, all these third-party AI providers would be negatively affected once the rule comes into effect on Jan. 15, 2026.
According to the EC, Meta’s new restrictions may be in violation of EU competition rules that ban companies from abusing their dominant market position.
“AI markets are booming in Europe and beyond. We must ensure European citizens and businesses can benefit fully from this technological revolution and act to prevent dominant digital incumbents from abusing their power to crowd out innovative competitors,” said Teresa Ribera, the EU’s executive vice president for clean, just, and competitive transition.
“This is why we are investigating if Meta’s new policy might be illegal under competition rules, and whether we should act quickly to prevent any possible irreparable harm to competition in the AI space.”
“Still, the AI space is highly competitive, and people have access to the services of their choice in any number of ways, including app stores, search engines, email services, partnership integrations, and operating systems,” the spokesperson said.
