Meta Platforms has criticised European Union antitrust regulators after being formally charged with breaching competition rules over its policy that blocks rival artificial intelligence services from its WhatsApp messaging platform, a dispute highlighting regulatory pressure on dominant global tech firms.
The European Commission sent Meta a statement of objections, alleging the company’s January 15 change to allow only its own Meta AI assistant on WhatsApp may constitute an abuse of its dominant position by denying competitors access to the WhatsApp Business API. The Commission argues that such restrictions could cause serious and irreversible harm to competition in a fast-growing segment of digital services.
Meta’s response, communicated via a spokesperson, rejected the basis for regulatory intervention, asserting there is “no reason for the EU to intervene” because users can access a wide range of AI tools from app stores, operating systems, devices, websites and other industry channels. The company maintained that the Commission’s view incorrectly treats the WhatsApp Business API as a key distribution channel for third-party AI chatbots, a premise Meta says is factually unfounded.
The EU’s actions mirror similar concerns raised by national competition authorities, including recent steps by Italy’s regulator to curb exclusionary practices by Meta. The Commission has said it may impose interim measures to prevent the exclusion of rival AI services while the investigation continues, though any decisive regulatory action will depend on Meta’s response and its right to defend its position.
The clash underscores broader tensions between large technology platforms and regulators seeking to enforce competition law in digital markets, particularly under frameworks like the EU’s Digital Markets Act and existing competition rules aimed at preventing dominant firms from leveraging control over key services.
