The European Commission has issued a Statement of Objections to Meta, indicating potential violations of EU antitrust regulations. The Commission alleges that Meta has impeded third-party Artificial Intelligence (AI) assistants from interacting with users on WhatsApp, thereby inhibiting competition in the rapidly expanding AI assistant market. In response to these concerns, the Commission plans to implement interim measures to prevent serious and irreparable harm while awaiting Meta’s response.
“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,” stated Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition.
“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,” added Executive Vice-President Ribera.
Meta’s primary products include social networking platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, as well as messaging services like WhatsApp. On 15 October 2025, Meta revised its WhatsApp Business Solution Terms to effectively prohibit third-party AI assistants, permitting only its proprietary assistant, Meta AI, to be available starting 15 January 2026. The Commission considers this policy change potentially infringing EU competition law.
Preliminary findings suggest that a. Meta is likely to hold a dominant position in the European Economic Area (EEA) market for consumer communication applications, particularly with WhatsApp, b. It may be abusing this dominance by restricting access to third-party AI assistants, which are vital for engaging consumers and c. Immediate protective measures are necessary to prevent substantial damage to competitive dynamics and to safeguard the position of smaller competitors.
The Statement of Objections does not constitute a final determination of the investigation’s outcome, and Meta will be allowed to respond. This notice applies to the EEA, excluding Italy, where interim measures were issued by the Italian Competition Authority in December 2025.
On 4 December 2025, the Commission began formal proceedings into potential violations of competition law. Article 102 TFEU and Article 54 of the EEA Agreement prohibit the abuse of a dominant market position.
Under Regulation 1/2003, interim measures can be applied if there is evidence of an infringement and an urgent need to protect competition. The involved parties will receive a Statement of Objections, allowing them to respond and request a hearing.
If warranted, the Commission may impose interim measures, but this does not influence its final decision on the case.
