Meta ordered by EU to allow rival AI chatbots back on WhatsApp for free
The interim measure restores rivals’ access within five working days as regulators probe whether Meta blocked competitors from WhatsApp.
- On Tuesday, The European Commission ordered Meta Platforms to give rival AI chatbots free access to WhatsApp while regulators investigate whether the company abused its market power by blocking competitors.
- Regulators initiated an investigation last December following complaints from The Interaction Company of California, developer of the Poke AI assistant, and French startup Agentik regarding Meta's October decision to block rivals from its WhatsApp Business API.
- Under this interim measure—the first in 17 years—Meta must restore rival access within five working days, or face a fine of up to 10% of its global annual turnover if found to have breached antitrust rules.
- EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribiera stated that "competition can be lost long before a final decision is adopted," while a Meta spokesperson denounced the ruling as "regulatory overreach" subsidized by paying companies.
- The Commission is taking action to prevent harm in the growing AI market, shifting toward temporary orders after facing criticism for years-long antitrust investigations that failed to rein in Big Tech's market power.
140 Articles
140 Articles
The European Commission (EC) has ordered US company Meta to restore free access to WhatsApp for competing general-purpose artificial intelligence (AI) assistants and to maintain this access until the conclusion of an antitrust investigation. The measure is temporary and is intended to prevent irreversible harm to competition in the rapidly growing market for general-purpose AI assistants.
It's not just Apple – WhatsApp has to allow competing AIs too
One controversy to mar the launch of Siri AI was the news that it will not as yet be available within EU countries. The EU told Apple that it would have to allow third-party AI providers to offer similar functionality on iPhones, and the company has responded by withholding an EU launch for now. We’re now learning that Meta’s WhatsApp is being faced with a similar demand … more…
For the European Commission, Mark Zuckerberg's company cannot force competitors to pay to be hosted on the 3 billion-user messaging app
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