Meta re-enables third-party AI chatbots on WhatsApp

The European Commission is considering imposing interim measures to force Meta to allow third-party AI chatbots to be used on WhatsApp, arguing that restrictions imposed by Meta could harm competition in the market. Based on a preliminary summary, it is possible that Meta-owned WhatsApp is abusing its dominant position by banning such chatbots. Meta rejected this claim and stated that the logic of the commission is incorrect.

Last year, Meta changed the terms of use of the WhatsApp Business Solution in a way that severely limited the scope of third-party AI chatbots, effectively relegating them to a customer support role. Seeing signs of potential problems, the European Commission decided to investigate this matter more closely.

Although the investigation is still ongoing, the European Commission believes that it cannot wait until the investigation process is fully completed, as this delay may cause irreparable damage to competition in the market. Teresa Ribera, the executive vice president of the European Commission in the field of fair and competitive transition, said in this context that the markets related to artificial intelligence are forming and developing at a high speed, and for this reason, the reaction of regulatory bodies should be fast.

Accordingly, the European Commission has proposed a preliminary conclusion based on two main axes. Firstly, the fact that WhatsApp owned by Meta is likely to be the dominant player in the market of communication programs, and secondly, the ban on the use of third-party artificial intelligence assistants can be an example of abuse of this dominant position.

Meta will have the opportunity to defend itself, but the European Commission can still impose interim measures even before the end of the investigation. If such measures are implemented, this issue will not prejudge the final outcome of the case, and it is still possible that Meta will ultimately win this case after completing the investigations.

Meta has stated that the European Commission wrongly assumed that the WhatsApp Business API was a key distribution channel for these chatbots. It seems that OpenAI and Microsoft do not have such a view, because ChatGPT and Copilot have been removed from WhatsApp since January 15 (December 25) and are no longer available on this platform.