EU orders WhatsApp AI rollback

The European Commission told Meta on April 15 it plans to force WhatsApp to restore rival artificial intelligence assistants after rejecting Meta’s new access-fee model. (ec.europa.eu) The case started after Meta updated its WhatsApp Business Solution terms on October 15, 2025, and the change took effect on January 15, 2026. The Commission said that left Meta AI as the only general-purpose assistant available on WhatsApp in the European Economic Area. (ec.europa.eu) Meta then tried to reopen access by charging third-party assistant makers a fee in March 2026. The Commission said on April 15 that the revised policy appeared to have “the same effect” as the earlier exclusion and said access should be restored on the terms in place before October 15, 2025. (whtc.com) WhatsApp is not just another app in this case. The Commission said Meta is likely dominant in consumer communication apps in the European Economic Area and is examining the case under Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the bloc’s main abuse-of-dominance rule. (ec.europa.eu, competition-cases.ec.europa.eu) The Commission is using interim measures, a fast antitrust tool it reserves for cases where it sees a risk of serious and irreparable harm before a full investigation ends. Brussels said any order would stay in place until the broader antitrust case is finished. (ec.europa.eu, reuters.com) The dispute turns on distribution inside messaging. Rival assistant makers want to appear where users already chat, and the Commission is treating access to that channel as a competition issue rather than only a product-design choice. (politico.eu, ec.europa.eu) The investigation widened on April 15 to include Italy, where the Italian competition watchdog had already opened its own probe in 2025. That adds a national front to the European Union case against Meta’s WhatsApp policy. (whtc.com, reuters.com) Meta said the Commission was trying to let “some of the largest companies in the world” use the paid WhatsApp Business product for free. The company has argued that outside assistants should pay for access to business tools and infrastructure on the platform. (thehindu.com, developers.facebook.com) Meta can now answer the Commission’s latest charge sheet before Brussels decides whether to impose the interim order. If the order goes ahead, WhatsApp would have to reopen to competing assistants under the pre-October 2025 terms while the main antitrust case continues. (ec.europa.eu, competition-policy.ec.europa.eu)