The European Commission has issued a formal Statement of Objections to Meta, alleging the company breached EU antitrust rules by blocking third-party AI assistants from WhatsApp. The preliminary findings suggest Meta is abusing its dominant position in the messaging market to suppress competition in the emerging AI assistant sector.
The investigation focuses on an October 2025 policy update that effectively banned rival AI tools from the platform, leaving Meta AI as the sole provider. Since the policy took full effect on January 15, 2026, Meta’s own “Meta AI” has remained the only assistant permitted on the app, while competitors like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot were forced to withdraw. To prevent “serious and irreparable harm” to the market, the Commission intends to impose interim measures that could force Meta to restore access for competitors while the probe continues.
