Last year, Meta changed the WhatsApp Business Solution Terms in a way that severely limited what third-party AI chatbots are allowed to do (essentially, they were relegated to customer support). The European Commission decided to take a closer look as it sensed potential issues.
The investigation is still ongoing, but the Commission feels that it can’t wait for the full investigation to conclude because the delay can cause irreparable harm to competition in the market. “AI markets are developing at rapid pace, so we also need to be swift in our action,” said Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition.
So, the Commission has come out with a preliminary conclusion based on two key points: 1) Meta’s WhatsApp is likely to be the dominant player in communications apps and 2) banning third-party AI assistants would constitute abuse of that dominant position.
Meta will have a chance to defend itself, but the Commission can still apply interim measures. Note that if that happens, it won’t “prejudge” the case – Meta may still end up coming out on top once the full investigation completes.
Meta said in an email to Bloomberg: “The Commission’s logic incorrectly assumes the WhatsApp Business API is a key distribution channel for these chatbots.”
OpenAI and Microsoft may not feel that way, seeing how ChatGPT and Copilot got the boot and are no longer available on WhatsApp (since January 15).
