BRUSSELS — The European Commission on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, opened a formal antitrust investigation into Meta over a new policy that could limit artificial intelligence providers’ access to WhatsApp.
Meta operates several online communication and social networking services, including WhatsApp. Currently, AI providers offer conversational AI assistants through the app for tasks such as answering questions, generating content and handling customer service queries.
Although AI providers would still be allowed to use AI for ancillary or support tasks, the Commission said Meta’s new policy could prohibit them from using a tool that allows businesses — when AI is the primary service — to communicate with customers via WhatsApp. Meta’s own “Meta AI” service remains available, according to a press release by the European Commission.
Update
The Commission said the update will apply to existing AI providers on WhatsApp starting Jan. 15, 2026. For new providers, the update has been in effect since Oct. 15, 2025.
The investigation covers the entire European Economic Area except Italy, where the national competition authority is already examining Meta’s conduct and considering possible interim measures.
Meta is among several U.S. tech companies under heavy scrutiny from the Commission. In September, the European Union fined Google 2.95 billion euros (about $3.45 billion) for antitrust violations in the online advertising sector and launched a new investigation into the company in November.
The United States has repeatedly criticized the EU’s regulatory actions, calling them targeted at American firms. Google, Amazon and others recently said they would appeal the latest EU regulatory decisions. / XINHUA