Feb 9, 2026, 2:14 p.mFeb 9, 2026, 2:14 p.m
The European Commission is threatening the WhatsApp group Meta with interim coercive measures because of the artificial intelligence (AI) in the app. According to the preliminary results of an investigation, the US company is violating competition law because it does not grant competing AI providers access to the messenger service, as the Brussels authority announced.
AI’s competitors should not have the opportunity to establish themselves on WhatsApp.Image: EPA
Meta’s behavior risks preventing competitors from entering or expanding in the rapidly growing market for AI assistants. Meta announced in October that it would prohibit AI providers from using an option in WhatsApp to communicate with customers if AI was the primary service offered.
According to the EU Commission, this means that only Meta’s own AI (“Meta AI”) is available to users. The AI chatbot can summarize, translate and create texts and answer questions and also uses current information from the Internet. It works similarly to ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI models. If you want to use the AI, you can start a chat with it in the app.
The EU Commission speaks of “serious and irreparable damage”
The EU Commission monitors compliance with competition law in the EU. The Brussels competition authorities are now threatening to restore access for competitors to the AI market with coercive measures. They wanted to prevent Meta’s business policy from “causing serious and irreparable damage to the market”. EU Commission Vice President and Competition Commissioner Teresa Ribera said we cannot allow dominant tech companies to illegally exploit their market dominance to gain an unfair advantage.
How exactly the EU Commission would proceed to grant Meta’s competitors access to WhatsApp initially remained unclear. But Meta initially has the right to defend itself or make adjustments anyway – so it can still avert Brussels’ intervention. In addition, the ongoing investigation into the case has not yet been finally concluded. It remains unclear when the investigation will be completed – there is no legal deadline.
A Meta spokesman said there was no reason for the EU to intervene. “There are many AI options that can be used across app stores, operating systems, devices, websites and industry partnerships,” the spokesperson argued. The EU Commission incorrectly assumes that the WhatsApp interface is an important sales channel for these chatbots.
Meta is headquartered in California. Image: FR155217 AP
EU proceedings are already underway against the Facebook group Meta for violations of European digital laws. The commission announced at the end of October that he was threatened with high fines due to a lack of data transparency and the handling of illegal content on his platforms.
EU digital policy causes tensions with the USA
Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg spoke of “institutionalized censorship” in relation to the digital laws. US President Donald Trump, whose political camp had moved closer to Zuckerberg, had described the EU rules as anti-competitive. Washington has recently put increasing pressure on Brussels not to continue enforcing EU digital laws against US companies.
However, the criticism often referred to the Digital Services Act (DSA), not European competition law. Therefore, a possible US reaction in this case could be more cautious. Proceedings regarding possible competition violations have also been ongoing in the United States. Last year, the US government failed in court in its attempt to force the separation of Instagram and WhatsApp from the Facebook group Meta. (sda/awp/dpa)