The European Commission orders Meta to open WhatsApp to AI competitors: it gave it a week and threatened an incredible fine

The case begins like this: On February 9, the European Commission required the American technology company META (owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) to open your messaging tool to competing artificial intelligence operators. Brussels then considered that META “violates European regulations on free competition excluding third-party artificial intelligence assistants from access to WhatsApp users.”

The European Commission even imposed “provisional measures to prevent” META from continuing to “cause serious and irreparable damage” that would affect the market. The decision was made after the October 15, 2025 META will announce an update to WhatsApp Business which “effectively prevented third-party artificial intelligence assistants from interacting with your application.”

When that decision was made, the vice president of the European Commission and in charge of the Competition portfolio, the Spanish Teresa Ribera, said: “We must protect effective competition in this sector, which means that we cannot allow dominant technology companies to illegally use that domain to give themselves unfair advantages.”

The investigation had concluded that META “is dominant in the European communication applications marketespecially thanks to WhatsApp”, that META “abuses its dominant position by refusing access to WhatsApp to other companies” and that this made “the need to impose protective measures urgent” because the American technology company puts free competition at risk.

But four months passed and META moved. On March 4, it decided to accept artificial intelligence assistants on WhatsApp but only after charging them. Something that for the European Commission continued to be a violation of free competition regulations.

So this Tuesday the European Commission ordered META to “immediately restore free access to WhatsApp to rival artificial intelligence tools and keep it open until the investigation by the European Commission for violation of free competition regulations is over.” The decision taken this Tuesday is made, according to the executive arm of the European Union, “to prevent serious and irreparable damage to competition in the growing market for artificial intelligence assistants.”

Brussels gives to the American company five business daysuntil next Tuesday, to open WhatsApp again to competing artificial intelligence assistants, and for freea, with the same rules that were in effect before the October 15, 2025 decision to close its communication tool to competing companies.

If the American company does not comply with the decision of the European Commission before Tuesday, the European Union Competition services could impose a fine of up to 10% of your global income for the year precedent, 2025. Something that the European Commission would probably be happy to do because it would help it finance a good part of its programs.

According to the financial results published by Meta Platforms, the company reported total global revenue of $200,966 million during fiscal year 2025.

If a penalty equivalent to 10% of said global income were applied, the fine would amount to 20,096.6 million dollars.

Furthermore, the Commission reminded META this Tuesday that There are no legal deadlines to close your investigation, which remains open and could be extended due to the complexity of the case. Incidentally, it does remind you that the deadlines for this investigation may be related to the willingness of the company to cooperate in the investigation and in the application of the provisional measures required of it.

Ribera said this Tuesday that the Commission “today demands that META restore access to WhatsApp for artificial intelligence competitors while we investigate whether these restrictions violate European Union Competition regulations.” With this decision, Ribera assured, “we preserve the right of European citizens to choose which artificial intelligence assistants they want to use on WhatsApp without that decision being made by them.”