The European Commission (EC) has initiated a formal investigation into whether Meta’s new policy on the use of WhatsApp by AI providers complies with EU competition law.
The policy, announced in October 2025, bars AI providers from using WhatsApp’s Business Solution if AI is their primary product or service. They may, however, still use AI tools for support functions, such as automated customer service.
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According to the regulator, this policy may restrict third-party AI providers from offering their services to users in the European Economic Area (EEA).
The EC review excludes Italy, where the national authority is conducting its own probe.
Meta’s changes have come into force for new AI providers from 15 October 2025 and existing ones from 15 January 2026. The company’s own AI service, ‘Meta AI’, will remain available on WhatsApp.
WhatsApp is used by businesses to engage with customers and by some AI providers to offer features such as answering questions or generating content through conversational AI.
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By GlobalDataThe EC has expressed concern that Meta’s updated terms could block competitors from accessing WhatsApp’s customer base.
EC Clean, Just and Competitive Transition Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera said: “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.
“This is why we are investigating if Meta’s new policy might be illegal under competition rules, and whether we should act quickly to prevent any possible irreparable harm to competition in the AI space.”
This antitrust action is part of the EC’s wider monitoring of AI markets, following a market consultation launched in January 2024 and a related policy paper published in September 2024.
The EC stressed that opening an investigation does not determine any outcome in advance.
The investigation will examine whether Meta’s conduct constitutes an abuse of a dominant position under Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Article 54 of the EEA Agreement.
According to EC, there is no set deadline for completion. The timeframe depends on the case’s complexity, company cooperation, and exercise of rights by those involved.
