The European Union has ordered Meta to open its WhatsApp platform to competing chatbots with artificial intelligence for free. This decision, made on 9 June, requires Meta to comply with the demand within five working days as part of the EU’s ongoing antitrust investigation. In case of non-compliance, the company faces a significant fine.
The European Commission, which is the EU’s digital watchdog, stated that Meta must provide access to competitors until the investigation is completed. “We are requiring Meta to reinstate access to WhatsApp for competing AI assistants while we investigate whether Meta’s restrictions may breach EU competition rules,” said EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera. The Commission believes that this order will help prevent serious and irreparable harm to competition in this developing market, as Meta’s behavior “at first sight breaches EU competition rules”.
Background of the Antitrust Investigation
This order is a continuation of the investigation launched by the EU in December last year regarding the US firm’s policy of blocking access for AI providers, except for its own Meta AI. In February, the EU warned Meta about possible interim measures if the company did not open WhatsApp to competing AI assistants. In response, Meta introduced a fee for access, but the EU rejected it in April, deeming it unsatisfactory.
Meta’s Reaction and Risks
A Meta spokesperson said that the company will appeal this decision, calling it “overregulation”. According to him, this measure will allow “OpenAI and some of the largest companies in the world” to gain free access, which, he claims, “is subsidized by many European companies that pay”.
Source: The Straits Times