EU threatens Meta with enforcement measures over AI on WhatsApp
On Wednesday, the European Commission issued a formal threat to impose interim regulatory measures against Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, concerning suspected violations of European Union competition regulations.
- Tech
- DPA
- Published Date: 05:41 | 15 April 2026
The European Commission on Wednesday threatened to impose interim measures on WhatsApp parent company Meta in a spat over alleged breaches of EU competition law.
The commission has been investigating Meta after it announced it would restrict access to the WhatsApp messaging service for rival artificial intelligence (AI) providers last year.
Meta has since said that it is to reinstate access subject to the payment of a fee, according to the commission.
"Replacing the legal ban with pricing that has a similar effect does not change our preliminary view that Meta's conduct appears to be an abuse of its dominant position, that may seriously harm competition on the market for AI assistants," said EU Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera.
The interim measures, if applied, aim to "reinstate full access for rival AI assistants to WhatsApp until we have analysed the matter in full," the EU's competition zar said.
"Pushing out competitors in fast-evolving markets like AI is exactly the type of conduct that interim measures are designed toaddress."
Meta can now reply to the commission's assessment and suggest concessions to avoid the enforcement measures.
If the investigation eventually confirms that Meta has breached EU competition law, the commission can impose penalties on the US company.
Proceedings in the European Union are also under way against Meta for suspected breaches of the bloc's digital laws.
In October, the commission announced that Meta could face heavy fines for a lack of data transparency and its handling of illegal content on Facebook and Instagram.
The commission also suspects that the US company may be breaching rules on the protection of minors including insufficiently protecting children and young people from addictive algorithms.
The commission has been investigating Meta after it announced it would restrict access to the WhatsApp messaging service for rival artificial intelligence (AI) providers last year.
Meta has since said that it is to reinstate access subject to the payment of a fee, according to the commission.
"Replacing the legal ban with pricing that has a similar effect does not change our preliminary view that Meta's conduct appears to be an abuse of its dominant position, that may seriously harm competition on the market for AI assistants," said EU Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera.
The interim measures, if applied, aim to "reinstate full access for rival AI assistants to WhatsApp until we have analysed the matter in full," the EU's competition zar said.
"Pushing out competitors in fast-evolving markets like AI is exactly the type of conduct that interim measures are designed toaddress."
Meta can now reply to the commission's assessment and suggest concessions to avoid the enforcement measures.
If the investigation eventually confirms that Meta has breached EU competition law, the commission can impose penalties on the US company.
Proceedings in the European Union are also under way against Meta for suspected breaches of the bloc's digital laws.
In October, the commission announced that Meta could face heavy fines for a lack of data transparency and its handling of illegal content on Facebook and Instagram.
The commission also suspects that the US company may be breaching rules on the protection of minors including insufficiently protecting children and young people from addictive algorithms.
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