KUALA LUMPUR – The European Commission has opened an antitrust investigation into Meta over concerns that its new rules governing AI tools on WhatsApp could amount to anti-competitive “gatekeeping”, escalating Brussels’ scrutiny of Big Tech’s use of artificial intelligence.
The probe centres on a policy Meta introduced in October, which prevents AI providers from using WhatsApp’s business API when AI is the main service offered.
While companies may still deploy AI for limited functions such as customer support, the Commission said it feared the new restrictions could “prevent third party AI providers from offering their services through WhatsApp in the European Economic Area (EEA).”
In announcing the investigation, the EU’s Competition Commissioner Teresa Ribera said: “We must ensure European citizens and businesses can benefit fully from this technological revolution and act to prevent dominant digital incumbents from abusing their power to crowd out innovative competitors.”
Meanwhile, Meta strongly rejected the accusation of exclusionary behaviour.
“The claims are baseless,” a WhatsApp spokesperson told CNBC, adding that the platform’s API “was not designed to support AI chatbots and puts a strain on our systems.”
“The AI space is highly competitive and people have access to the services of their choice in any number of ways, including app stores, search engines, email services, partnership integrations and operating systems,” the spokesperson added.
The Commission’s intervention comes as part of a wider clampdown on major US tech firms. In recent months, Brussels has issued a €2.95 billion (RM14.15 billion) fine to Google over advertising practices, penalised Apple €500 million (RM2.4 billion) for anti-steering violations, and fined Meta €200 million (RM959.4 million) for not giving users a meaningful choice over data-tracking services.
Fines for breaching EU antitrust rules can reach up to 10 per cent of a company’s global revenue, and previous competition cases have taken years to conclude.
The probe will cover the entire EEA except Italy, which is conducting its own inquiry into Meta’s conduct.
The dispute also risks straining transatlantic relations. US president Donald Trump, reacting to earlier EU fines on American tech firms, previously warned Brussels that “my Administration will NOT allow these discriminatory actions to stand,” and threatened retaliation in the form of potential tariffs.
For now, regulators are focused squarely on Meta’s control over access to WhatsApp – a platform with more than 2 billion global users – and whether its AI restrictions constitute a technical necessity or a competitive chokehold. – December 4, 2025