الاتحاد الأوروبي يضغط على Meta لتسمح بالتنافس مع AI Chatbots على WhatsApp مجانا

The European Commission just did something it has only done twice in 20 years — it ordered Meta to let rival AI chatbots onto WhatsApp for free.

What the Interim Measure Actually Demands

Tuesday's announcement forces Meta to restore free WhatsApp access for chatbots made by competing AI providers while the antitrust investigation wraps up. The Commission deemed the measure necessary "to prevent serious and irreparable damage to competition" in the general-purpose AI assistant market. This is emergency power — plain and simple.

Why This Matters for the AI Assistant Market

Meta had been banning third-party AI chatbots from its WhatsApp platform, a move that effectively cut off a distribution channel for rivals. WhatsApp sits on over 2 billion monthly active users — that's leverage. By blocking competitors from reaching those users, Meta could tilt the nascent AI assistant market in favor of its own models. The December 2025 investigation is looking at whether that ban constituted an abuse of market dominance.

The Antitrust Investigation Timeline

This is only the second time in two decades the EU has used an interim measure in a competition case. The formal probe started in December 2025, and the interim order signals that the Commission sees serious competitive harm unfolding in real time. If the full investigation rules against Meta, the consequences could extend far beyond WhatsApp — platform gatekeeping of AI services would face new legal constraints.

The order is temporary, but the message is permanent: Big Tech can't wall off distribution for AI assistants behind a moat of billions of users.

Source: WhatsApp ordered to host rival AI assistants for free
Domain: theverge.com