EU gives Meta 5 days to restore WhatsApp AI competitor access

The European Commission has ordered Meta to reinstate full access to WhatsApp for competing AI assistant services within five working days, citing what regulators describe as “serious and irreparable damage to competition” in the rapidly evolving AI market. The interim measures, announced Tuesday, aim to prevent permanent harm before the Commission completes its broader investigation.

Meta immediately announced it would appeal the decision. The company characterized the order as forcing it to provide “free access to the paid-for WhatsApp Business product” to rivals including OpenAI and other major players.

The dispute stems from recent changes Meta made to WhatsApp Business, which critics argue unfairly blocked rival AI providers from offering their services through the platform. While the exact restrictions have not been publicly detailed, the Commission found them severe enough to justify emergency intervention before the investigation concludes.

Italy’s antitrust authority first flagged the issue, and the Commission later expanded its probe to cover the Italian market, ultimately taking jurisdiction over the entire case.

If Meta fails to comply, it faces fines of up to 10% of global annual revenue plus daily penalties. Although EU fines rarely reach that maximum, the threat is substantial. Meta reported approximately $187 billion in revenue for 2025.

The measures will remain in effect for the duration of the investigation, which has no fixed deadline. “In rapidly evolving markets, competition can be lost long before a final decision is adopted,” said EU competition chief Teresa Ribera.

This is not Meta’s first confrontation with Brussels. In April 2025, the company was fined €200 million for allegedly violating the Digital Markets Act. In November 2024, it was ordered to pay €798 million for tying Facebook Marketplace to its social network.

Meta now faces a growing regulatory burden in Europe, including DMA enforcement, competition fines, GDPR privacy challenges, and this new AI-specific intervention. Meanwhile, former US President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs and export restrictions in response to European regulations he claims unfairly target American tech companies.

The stakes are high because WhatsApp has more than two billion users globally. For AI companies building business-facing assistants, access to WhatsApp Business represents a distribution channel unmatched by any other messaging platform.

Meta argues it should not be forced to give competitors free access to a paid product. The Commission counters that blocking rivals from an essential platform harms competition in a market still in its formative stages. The interim order allows regulators to act before a final ruling, preventing what they consider irreversible damage.

Several questions remain unanswered. The Commission has not released the full details of Meta’s restrictive policies or identified all affected AI providers beyond OpenAI. The investigation has no deadline, and interim measures of this kind are rare in EU competition law, signaling the Commission views the risk as urgent.

Meta’s appeal will test whether interim measures can withstand judicial review while the underlying investigation remains open. If the order is upheld, it establishes a precedent: dominant platforms cannot exclude AI rivals from their business services during an investigation, even before a formal finding of wrongdoing.