EU orders Meta to restore free WhatsApp AI access

The European Commission has ordered Meta to restore free access to its WhatsApp Business platform for rival artificial intelligence assistants within five working days, issuing an interim measure to prevent what it calls serious and irreparable damage to competition. The order, announced Tuesday, requires Meta to return to the access conditions that existed before October 2025, when the company began restricting and later charging fees to competing AI providers.

The Commission’s action represents its first use of interim measures in an antitrust case in 17 years, signaling the urgency regulators perceive in the rapidly evolving AI market. The investigation, opened in December 2025, examines whether Meta abused its market power by blocking competitors from the messaging app, which has over two billion users globally. The probe followed complaints from AI companies including The Interaction Company, French startup Agentik, and a Spanish rival. Italy’s antitrust authority initially examined the issue before the Commission expanded its probe to cover the Italian market as well.

EU competition chief Teresa Ribera stated that in fast-moving markets, competition can be lost long before...