Meta ordered by EU to halt WhatsApp curbs on rival AI firms

The European Commission just told Meta to stop gatekeeping WhatsApp. On June 9, EU antitrust regulators issued interim measures demanding Meta restore free access to its WhatsApp Business API for third-party AI assistants within five working days.

The order is the sharpest regulatory action yet in an escalating standoff between Brussels and the social media giant over competition in the AI assistant market.

What Meta did and why the EU cares

On October 15, 2025, Meta changed its WhatsApp Business API policy so that only Meta’s own AI services could use the platform. If you were a rival AI chatbot trying to reach WhatsApp’s massive user base for business interactions, the door was suddenly locked.

The European Commission launched a formal investigation in December 2025 to determine whether Meta had abused its dominant market position. Statements of objections followed in February 2026, with supplementary objections added in April 2026.

The Commission views WhatsApp as a crucial distribution channel for AI assistants. The interim measures are designed to prevent what regulators describe as significant harm to competition while the broader investigation continues.

Meta has criticized the ruling as regulatory overreach and signaled it intends to appeal the decision.

The financial stakes

If Meta is ultimately found guilty of breaching EU antitrust laws, the penalties could be severe. We’re talking up to 10% of Meta’s global turnover.

The five-day compliance window is unusually aggressive. Interim measures in EU antitrust cases are rare to begin with. The Commission has historically reserved them for situations where it believes irreversible competitive damage is occurring in real time.

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