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   EU launches antitrust investigation into Metas WhatsApp AI access policy   
      
   Date:   
   Fri, 05 Dec 2025 17:40:00 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   Europe (and Italy) is worried about WhatsApps AI policy and its effects on   
   competition.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   The European Commission has launched a formal antitrust investigation into   
   Meta over whether its WhatsApp AI policy restricts competition by blocking   
   rival AI chatbot providers.    
      
   Europes case covers most of the bloc, with the exception of Italy - which   
   launched its own probe separately.    
      
   Per Metas updated WhatsApp Business API terms, third-party AI chatbots are   
   banned from being distributed via WhatsApp if providing AI is their primary   
   service.   
      
   WhatsApps AI policy has troubled the European Commission    
      
   The EU is worried that Meta might be abusing market dominance to favor its    
   own Meta AI over rivals. Some developers have already filed complaints   
   claiming that the policy harms competition and innovation.    
      
   OpenAI and Microsoft have already had to remove their chatbots from the   
   platform following the introduction of revised terms, updated in October.    
      
   AI markets are booming in Europe and beyond. We must ensure European citizens   
   and businesses can benefit fully from this technological revolution and act    
   to prevent dominant digital incumbents from abusing their power to crowd out   
   innovative competitors, EC EVP for Clean, Just and Competition Transition,   
   Teresa Ribera, wrote.    
      
   The investigation could lead to interim measures, suspending Metas policy   
   before the final ruling is given. If Meta is found guilty, it could face    
   fines of up to 10% of its global annual revenue, or $16.5 billion based on    
   its 2024 earnings.    
      
   The company has already found itself in trouble within the EU, coughing up a   
   200 million fine under the Digital Markets Act.    
      
   The emergence of AI chatbots on our Business API puts a strain on our systems   
   that they were not designed to support, a Meta spokesperson said, calling the   
   allegations "baseless."    
      
   "Even still, the AI space is highly competitive and people have access to the   
   services of their choice in any number of ways, including app stores, search   
   engines, email services, partnership integrations, and operating systems."    
      
   The European Commission promises to carry out an in-depth investigation as a   
   matter of priority.    
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/pro/eu-launches-antitrust-investigation-into-metas-w   
   hatsapp-ai-access-policy   
      
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