European regulators have raised serious concerns about how WhatsApp is being used in the fast growing AI market. The European Commission has warned Meta that its actions on WhatsApp Business could violate EU antitrust rules by limiting access for rival AI chatbots.
According to the Commission, changes introduced to WhatsApp Business in October mean that Meta AI is now the only AI assistant available on the platform. WhatsApp Business is widely used by companies to connect with customers and regulators believe Meta is using its strong position in the EU messaging market to block other businesses from offering competing AI services. The Commission said Meta was “abusing” its dominance by “refusing access to WhatsApp to other businesses,” adding that this could cause “serious and irreparable harm on the market.”
The EU also stressed that WhatsApp acts as a key gateway for AI chatbots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT to reach users. It said it “considers that WhatsApp is an important entry point” for these tools to access consumers. The warning comes at a time of rising tension between European regulators and the administration of Donald Trump over rules governing US technology companies. Brussels is preparing to step up enforcement of its main competition laws, a move the Trump administration has described as “discriminatory” against US firms.
EU competition commissioner Teresa Ribera said in an interview with a news agency, “It is very obvious that we need to defend, to implement and to enforce our rules, to defend our market, a well functioning market.” She also addressed possible US reactions, saying, “I don’t know how it may be read by any government, but my sense is that this is not connected to politics, but connected to well functioning markets.” In December, the US imposed sanctions on former EU commissioner Thierry Breton and 4 other European activists, accusing them of censorship. Breton is challenging the sanctions, with the Commission backing him.
Meta has rejected the EU’s concerns. A company spokesperson said, “The facts are that there is no reason for the EU to intervene in the WhatsApp Business API. There are many AI options and people can use them from app stores, operating systems, devices, websites and industry partnerships. The commission’s logic incorrectly assumes the WhatsApp Business API is a key distribution channel for these chatbots.” Last month, Brazilian authorities raised similar concerns over “potential anti competitive practices,” according to a news agency. That case was later suspended, with Meta saying the claims were “fundamentally wrong,” and that the “emergence of AI chatbots on the WhatsApp Business Platform overloads our systems, which were not designed for this type of support”.
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