Finance
Meta's WhatsApp AI policy in EU antitrust crosshairs
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on December 4, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on December 4, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
The EU is investigating Meta's new WhatsApp AI policy, which may block rival AI providers, to ensure fair competition.
BRUSSELS, Dec 4 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators opened on Thursday an investigation into Meta Platforms' new policy regarding AI providers' access to its messaging service WhatsApp, saying this may prevent rivals from offering their services in Europe.
The European Commission said the policy, which will apply from January next year, may block competing AI providers from reaching their customers through WhatsApp while Meta's own AI service Meta AI would remain accessible to users on the platform.
"We must ensure European citizens and businesses can benefit fully of this technological revolution and act to prevent dominant digital incumbents from abusing their power to crowd out innovative competitors," EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said in a statement.
"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," she said.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)
Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think and learn. AI can perform tasks such as problem-solving, understanding natural language, and recognizing patterns.
The European Commission is the executive branch of the European Union responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, and managing the EU's day-to-day operations. It plays a key role in ensuring that EU laws are applied uniformly across member states.
Antitrust regulation refers to laws and policies designed to promote competition and prevent monopolistic practices in the marketplace. These regulations aim to protect consumers and ensure fair competition among businesses.
A messaging service is a platform that allows users to send and receive messages in real-time. Examples include applications like WhatsApp, which enable text, voice, and video communication over the internet.
Competition law is a set of regulations that promote fair competition and prevent anti-competitive practices such as monopolies, cartels, and mergers that may harm consumers or stifle competition.
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