EU orders Meta to restore WhatsApp access for rival AI chatbots

European Union regulators on Tuesday ordered Meta Platforms to restore access to WhatsApp for rival AI chatbot makers until its antitrust investigation is complete.

The bloc’s executive Commission, which is the 27-nation EU’s top antitrust and competition enforcer, said it was taking action to prevent harm to competition in the growing market for AI assistants before it’s too late.

The commission said it was imposing “interim measures” while it continues its investigation into WhatsApp’s artificial intelligence policy over concerns the company is breaching EU law by blocking competitors from offering their AI assistants on the platform.

Meta said it would appeal.

“The European Commission has decided that OpenAI and some of the largest companies in the world can use the paid-for WhatsApp Business product for free,” the company said in a statement. “This is regulatory overreach subsidised by the many European companies that pay.”  Brussels has been resorting to temporary orders after facing criticism over previous years-long antitrust investigations into Big Tech companies that failed to rein in their market power.

“In rapidly evolving markets, competition can be lost long before a final decision is adopted,” the commission’s executive vice-president overseeing competition, Teresa Ribera, said in a statement.

EU regulators last year began scrutinising updated terms and conditions for Meta’s business customers using AI assistants to communicate with customers over WhatsApp.

They were concerned that the agreement prevented third-party AI companies from offering their assistants on the platform, leaving only Meta’s chatbot service available to users.

Meta attempted to resolve the probe by charging rivals for access, but that didn’t satisfy regulators, who threatened in April to force the company to reinstate access for free.

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