The European Union has stepped up its antitrust scrutiny of Meta Platforms, warning that it may impose interim measures over the company’s decision to restrict rival artificial intelligence (AI) services from operating on WhatsApp.
The European Commission, the EU’s antitrust authority, said in a statement on Monday that it had formally charged Meta with violating EU competition rules by limiting access to WhatsApp’s ecosystem.
The Commission raised concerns that Meta’s policy change, implemented on January 15, 2026, allows only its in-house AI assistant, Meta AI, to function on WhatsApp, effectively blocking competing AI developers.
“The Commission therefore intends to impose interim measures to prevent this policy change from causing serious and irreparable harm on the market, subject to Meta’s reply and rights of defence,” the statement said.
The move underscores the Commission’s worry that delaying action for a full investigation which can take years could allow Meta to cement an unfair advantage in AI-driven services.
With WhatsApp’s user base running into hundreds of millions across Europe, regulators fear the company may be favouring its own AI tools while denying rivals critical access to the platform.
Meta’s clash with EU regulators comes amid broader scrutiny of its data and advertising practices.
In April 2025, the Commission found Meta in breach of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a landmark law aimed at regulating dominant digital platforms.
Following the ruling, Meta offered EU users more control over how their data is used across its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.
Despite these measures, regulatory pressure has continued.
The EU has imposed its first major DMA fines, with Apple receiving a €500 million penalty and Meta fined €200 million for issues related to service integration and data processing.
If interim measures are imposed, Meta may be forced to open WhatsApp to rival AI services while the investigation continues.
A final ruling could also result in significant fines and stricter behavioural remedies, setting a precedent for how dominant digital platforms can integrate proprietary AI tools into their services without violating EU competition rules.
