European regulators moved to clip the wings of Meta Platforms Inc. on Monday. They plan “interim measures” to prevent the tech giant from blocking rival artificial intelligence (AI) assistants on its WhatsApp messaging platform.
The European Commission informed Meta of its preliminary view that the company breached EU antitrust rules. The escalation follows a policy update Meta introduced in October, and which went into effect in January, that effectively bans third-party general-purpose AI assistants from the WhatsApp Business API.
Reflecting the urgency of the AI arms race, the Commission is pursuing temporary injunctions to halt Meta’s policy while a full investigation continues. Teresa Ribera, EU Commissioner for Competition, emphasized that the rapid pace of the AI market necessitates “swift action” to prevent “irreparable harm” to competition.
“We will prevent dominant tech companies from illegally leveraging their dominance to give themselves an unfair advantage,” Ribera said. If the interim measures are finalized, Meta would be forced to restore access for third-party AI developers under the terms that existed prior to the policy change.
Meta dismissed the Commission’s intervention as unnecessary. A company spokesperson argued that the WhatsApp Business API is not a critical distribution channel for chatbots, and that consumers have ample access to AI via app stores, operating systems, and websites.
“The facts are that there is no reason for the EU to intervene,” the spokesperson said, adding that the Commission’s logic incorrectly assumes a market dependency that does not exist.
The crackdown adds another layer of friction between Brussels, headquarter of the EU, and Washington, D.C. The Trump administration has frequently criticized EU tech regulations as “hidden taxes” on American innovation. However, Ribera maintained that the move is “not connected to politics,” but rather to “well-functioning markets.”
Stakes are high for Menlo Park, Calif.-based Meta. Under EU antitrust rules, companies can face fines of up to 10% of their global annual revenue. This latest clash follows a bruising 2025 for Silicon Valley in Europe, which saw Apple Inc., Google, and Meta hit with combined fines exceeding 3.6 billion euros ($4.3 billion).
The Commission’s investigation remains ongoing, and Meta maintains the right to a formal defense before the interim measures are officially implemented.
