EU threatens to force Meta to restore WhatsApp full access for rival AI chatbots
LONDON — European Union regulators have threatened to force WhatsApp’s parent meta-platforms to reverse a decision they say effectively limits the access of rival companies’ AI chatbots to the messaging app.
Meta’s attempt to resolve the bloc’s antitrust investigation into WhatsApp by charging third-party AI companies for access is unsatisfactory, the European Commission said on Wednesday.
The commission, which is the executive arm of the 27-nation bloc and the main antitrust enforcement agency, opened the investigation last year over concerns that WhatsApp was preventing rival artificial intelligence companies from offering their AI assistants on the platform.
Officials said Meta’s decision in March to start charging third-party AI providers for access was essentially equivalent to the ban it had in place.
“Replacing the legal ban with pricing with a similar effect does not change our preliminary view that Meta’s behavior appears to be an abuse of a dominant position, likely to seriously harm competition in the AI assistant market,” Teresa Ribera, executive vice president of the commission that oversees competition, said in a statement.
When Brussels opened its investigation in December, authorities said they were examining new terms and conditions that blocked AI chatbot providers from using a tool to communicate with customers.
The bloc said it intends to issue its order to restore access to third-party chatbots under previous terms until it reaches a final decision on the matter.
Meta said the commission’s decision means the company will have to provide its service for free and would amount to subsidizing some businesses rather than paving the way for more competition.
This could mean, for example, that “a small bakery in France paying to use the service to take orders for croissants will foot the bill for OpenAI,” Meta said of one of its competitors in a statement. “European small businesses shouldn’t foot the bill for OpenAI.”
