The European Commission today notified Meta Platforms of its intention to impose interim measures in one of the most urgent antitrust interventions the bloc has launched against a technology company in recent years. The action concerns Meta's decision to lock competing artificial intelligence assistants out of WhatsApp, a platform with more than 2 billion users worldwide, while keeping its own Meta AI as the sole assistant available through the messaging service in the European Economic Area.

The Commission sent Meta a formal Statement of Objections on February 9, 2026 - today - setting out its preliminary view that the company breached EU antitrust rules under Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Article 54 of the EEA Agreement. Both provisions prohibit the abuse of a dominant position that may affect trade and restrict competition within the Single Market.

The case, registered under the number AT.41034, was formally opened on December 4, 2025, according to the Commission's competition case register. It targets a policy change Meta announced in October 2025: an update to its WhatsApp Business Solution Terms that effectively bans third-party general-purpose AI assistants from operating on WhatsApp. According to the Commission's press release, the new terms took effect for new AI providers on October 15, 2025. For providers already established on the platform, the restriction came into force on January 15, 2026.

The consequence is stark. Since January 15, the only AI assistant available to WhatsApp users in the EEA is Meta AI, Meta's own product. Services including OpenAI's ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Perplexity - which had previously reached users through the messaging platform - are now excluded.

What the Commission found

The Commission's preliminary conclusions rest on three pillars. First, it considers that Meta is likely dominant in the EEA market for consumer communication applications, principally through WhatsApp. Second, the Commission takes the view that Meta is likely abusing that position by refusing access to WhatsApp to competing businesses, including third-party AI assistants. Third, the Commission considers there is an urgent need for interim protective measures, given what it describes as a risk of serious and irreparable harm to competition.

The Commission's reasoning on urgency is notable. Under Article 8(1) of Regulation 1/2003, interim measures are reserved for situations where there is, at first sight, an infringement of competition law and where the risk of lasting damage to market structure is pressing. The Commission argues that Meta's conduct risks raising barriers to entry and expansion in the market for general-purpose AI assistants, and that smaller competitors could be irreparably marginalised before the full investigation concludes.

Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, stated: "Artificial intelligence is bringing incredible innovations to consumers, and one of these is the emerging market of AI assistants. We must protect effective competition in this vibrant field, which means we cannot allow dominant tech companies to illegally leverage their dominance to give themselves an unfair advantage. AI markets are developing at rapid pace, so we also need to be swift in our action. That is why we are considering quickly imposing interim measures on Meta, to preserve access for competitors to WhatsApp while the investigation is ongoing, and avoid Meta's new policy irreparably harming competition in Europe."

The Commission's description of WhatsApp as "an important entry point to enable general-purpose AI assistants reach consumers" is significant. It frames the messaging platform not merely as a communication tool but as a critical distribution channel - one that Meta controls and can selectively open or close. That framing matters because it anchors the antitrust concern in market access, not just in product design.

How the case evolved

The origins of this dispute trace back further than December's formal proceedings. Italy's competition authority, the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, was the first regulator to act. It initiated precautionary proceedings against Meta on November 26, 2025, following the October 15 WhatsApp Business Solution Terms update. The AGCM identified a specific list of affected providers - Microsoft's Copilot, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Factorìa Elcano's Luzia - and sought interim measures to suspend the restrictions for Italy's 37 million WhatsApp users.

That Italian action set a precedent. The Commission's current Statement of Objections explicitly notes that its scope covers the EEA except Italy, where the Italian Competition Authority already imposed interim measures in December 2025. The geographic carve-out avoids regulatory duplication while extending the intervention to the remaining EEA countries.

The Commission formally opened its own proceedings on December 4, 2025, through a decision under Article 11(6) of Council Regulation No 1/2003 and Article 2(1) of Commission Regulation No 773/2004. The decision text was published on December 15, 2025. The case is grounded in classic dominance law, and the Commission's legal basis - Art. 102 TFEU plus Art. 54 EEA - signals that this is treated as a refusal to deal scenario rather than a Digital Markets Act enforcement action, although Meta's products are already designated as core platform services under the DMA.

The distinction Meta draws

It is worth noting a technical distinction that some legal observers have highlighted. According to a comment by Dmitrii Petukhov, a senior software engineer, visible in the LinkedIn thread accompanying Teresa Ribera's post: "Meta isn't blocking all business AI. They specifically ban general-purpose AI assistants where the AI is the primary product. Businesses can still use specialized AI for support or tracking." The legal drama, he notes, concerns Meta granting its own AI assistant exclusive access as the only general-purpose one on WhatsApp.

That distinction - between specialized task-oriented bots and general-purpose AI assistants - sits at the heart of the Commission's market definition. The investigation focuses on general-purpose AI assistants as a distinct and emerging market category. WhatsApp, the Commission argues, functions as a key entry point into that market. By closing that entry point to rivals while keeping it open for Meta AI, Meta allegedly converts its dominance in messaging into structural advantage in AI.

What happens next

A Statement of Objections on interim measures does not determine the final outcome of the investigation. Under the procedural rules, Meta now has the right to reply to the Commission's concerns in writing, examine the documents in the investigation file, and request an oral hearing before representatives of the Commission and national competition authorities.

If, after those rights of defence have been exercised, the Commission concludes the conditions for interim measures are met, it can adopt a decision imposing such measures. That decision would not prejudge the final findings on the substance of the case. The main investigation - examining whether Meta's conduct constitutes a sustained abuse of dominance - continues in parallel.

The Commission has not set a public deadline for the interim measures decision. Given that the Commission described the situation as urgent and cited the risk of irreparable harm, the timeline is likely to be compressed compared to standard proceedings, which can take years.

Why this matters for marketing and advertising professionals

The implications extend well beyond the immediate question of which AI chatbots can run on WhatsApp. For the marketing community, WhatsApp is increasingly a business communication and commerce channel. Meta introduced WhatsApp Business API monetisation features progressively, and the platform now serves as a primary customer engagement surface for brands operating in markets where WhatsApp is dominant.

If the Commission's interim measures take effect, businesses that had built workflows around third-party AI assistants integrated into WhatsApp - for customer service automation, lead qualification, or conversational commerce - would regain access to those tools in EEA markets. The practical significance is not trivial. OpenAI's ChatGPT and Perplexity had both established user-facing integrations through the Business API before the January 15 cutoff.

More broadly, the case illustrates how competition enforcement is now moving into AI infrastructure. As PPC Land has reported, the European Commission simultaneously pursues Meta across multiple enforcement fronts, including a separate DMA compliance dispute and a contested fine of €200 million issued in April 2025. Meta has been actively litigating its European regulatory posture. The company formally appealed the Commission's DMA decision on July 2, 2025, arguing the Commission ignored established European Court of Justice precedent on consent-based advertising models.

The WhatsApp AI case adds a new dimension. Unlike the DMA dispute - which concerns how Meta structures consent for advertising - the AT.41034 case is a straightforward antitrust refusal-to-deal claim under Article 102 TFEU. It requires no finding that Meta is a DMA gatekeeper. It requires only that Meta holds a dominant position and that its conduct harms competition. The Commission appears confident enough in that assessment to seek emergency powers.

For advertisers and marketing technology companies operating in Europe, the pattern is consistent: regulators are increasingly willing to intervene in platform access decisions that shape the structure of emerging digital markets, not just traditional advertising ones. The AI assistant market, relatively nascent as it is, has already attracted enforcement attention at both national and EU level within the space of three months.

Timeline

  • July 22, 2025 - Italy's AGCM opens initial antitrust investigation into Meta's WhatsApp practices.
  • October 15, 2025 - Meta's updated WhatsApp Business Solution Terms take effect for new AI providers, banning general-purpose AI assistants. WhatsApp bars AI chatbots as Meta solidifies messaging monopoly.
  • November 14, 2025 - WhatsApp enables third-party messaging in Europe under DMA compliance, as BirdyChat and Haiket integrations launch - underscoring the contrast between interoperability compliance and AI access restrictions.
  • November 26, 2025 - Italy's AGCM launches precautionary proceedings against Meta, the first formal enforcement action targeting the WhatsApp AI ban.
  • December 4, 2025 - European Commission formally opens antitrust proceedings in case AT.41034 - Exclusion of AI competitors from WhatsApp.
  • December 15, 2025 - Commission publishes the English-language decision text for the initiation of proceedings.
  • December 2025 - Italy's competition authority imposes interim measures on Meta, covering Italian users.
  • January 15, 2026 - WhatsApp Business Solution Terms restrictions take full effect for all AI providers, including those previously present on the platform. ChatGPT, Copilot, and Perplexity lose access to EEA users outside Italy.
  • February 9, 2026 - European Commission sends Statement of Objections to Meta, notifying the company of its intention to impose interim measures under Article 8(1) of Regulation 1/2003.

Summary

Who: The European Commission, acting through its Directorate-General for Competition, sent a Statement of Objections to Meta Platforms, Inc. The case also involves competing AI assistant providers - including OpenAI, Microsoft, and Perplexity - whose services have been excluded from WhatsApp in the EEA since January 15, 2026. Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, is the named political official behind the action.

What: The Commission notified Meta of its preliminary view that the company breached EU antitrust rules by banning third-party general-purpose AI assistants from WhatsApp while allowing its own Meta AI to remain. The Commission is considering interim measures under Article 8(1) of Regulation 1/2003 to reverse the exclusion while the full investigation continues. A Statement of Objections sets out the preliminary findings and gives Meta the opportunity to respond.

When: Meta announced the WhatsApp Business Solution Terms update in October 2025. Restrictions took effect for new providers on October 15, 2025, and for existing providers on January 15, 2026. Formal EU proceedings opened December 4, 2025. The Statement of Objections was issued February 9, 2026.

Where: The case covers the European Economic Area, with the exception of Italy, where the national competition authority already imposed its own interim measures in December 2025. The underlying policy affects WhatsApp globally, but the legal proceedings are confined to the EEA jurisdictions.

Why: The Commission is concerned that Meta is converting its dominant position in consumer communication applications - held primarily through WhatsApp's 2 billion-plus user base - into a structural advantage in the emerging market for general-purpose AI assistants. By restricting access to WhatsApp for competing AI providers while reserving that access for Meta AI, the company allegedly raises barriers to entry and risks irreparably marginalising smaller competitors before a full investigation can conclude.

Share this article
The link has been copied!