The European Union orders Meta to restore access to third-party AI assistants in WhatsApp

The European Union has ordered technology company Meta to restore free access to third-party AI assistants (external chatbots) on WhatsApp.

In November last year, Meta blocked access to third-party chatbots on WhatsApp, even though the company’s own AI chatbot is present within the app.

The European Commission has strongly objected to this matter and ordered Meta to immediately restore free access to rival general-purpose AI assistants and maintain it until the antitrust investigation against the company is concluded.

According to the Commission, this step is necessary to prevent serious and irreparable harm to competition in the rapidly growing AI market. In a preliminary assessment, Meta’s conduct appears to violate European competition rules.

The investigation against Meta began in December when the company banned third-party AI chatbots on WhatsApp. The order now issued is part of these interim measures.