EU rejects Meta's WhatsApp fix

European Union regulators told Meta on April 15 that its plan to charge rival artificial intelligence chatbots for WhatsApp access does not fix the company’s competition problem. (ec.europa.eu) The European Commission sent Meta a supplementary statement of objections and said it intends to order the company to restore third-party artificial intelligence assistants on WhatsApp under the same terms that applied before Meta changed its policy on October 15, 2025. (ec.europa.eu) The case centers on the WhatsApp Business Solution, the tool businesses use to message customers on the app. The Commission opened a formal antitrust investigation on December 4, 2025 after Meta barred providers whose main product is an artificial intelligence assistant from using that channel in the European Economic Area. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) The Commission said on February 9 that, since January 15, 2026, Meta AI had been the only general-purpose artificial intelligence assistant available on WhatsApp, while rivals were shut out. Regulators said WhatsApp is an important route for artificial intelligence assistants to reach consumers and that blocking access could raise barriers for smaller competitors. (ec.europa.eu) Meta tried to answer that pressure on March 5 by reopening WhatsApp in Europe to rival chatbot makers, but only if they paid per message. TechCrunch reported rates ranging from €0.0490 to €0.1323 for each non-template message, depending on the country. (techcrunch.com) On April 15, the Commission said that pricing model was “effectively equivalent” to a ban. Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera said replacing a legal ban with pricing that has a similar effect does not change the Commission’s preliminary view that Meta may be abusing a dominant position. (politico.eu) Meta said the market for artificial intelligence services is “highly competitive” and that users can reach rival tools through app stores, search engines, email services, partnership integrations and operating systems. Meta spokesperson Joshua Breckman said the Commission was trying to let some of the world’s largest companies use a paid WhatsApp business product for free. (politico.eu) The Commission’s interim-measures process is unusual because it is meant for cases where officials see a risk of serious and irreparable harm before a full antitrust case is finished. In its February filing, the Commission said the inquiry covered the European Economic Area except Italy, where the Italian Competition Authority had already imposed interim measures in December 2025. (ec.europa.eu) By April 15, the Commission said the investigation had been extended to Italy and now covered the full European Economic Area: the European Union’s 27 member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. That leaves Meta facing pressure not just over one pricing change, but over whether WhatsApp can favor Meta AI over outside assistants at all. (france24.com)