EU Accuses Meta of Competition Breach

The European Commission has accused Meta of violating EU competition rules after the company restricted access to its proprietary artificial intelligence assistant to WhatsApp, warning it may impose interim measures to prevent potential harm to the market.

The move follows Meta’s decision, implemented on January 15, to allow the use of its in house AI assistant, known as Meta AI, exclusively on WhatsApp.

The Commission said the policy change could distort competition by giving Meta an unfair advantage in the rapidly expanding AI and digital services market.

Acting as the European Union’s antitrust watchdog, the Commission said it has sent a formal statement of objections to Meta, outlining alleged breaches of EU competition law.

In a statement, the Commission said it intends to adopt temporary measures to prevent the policy change from causing serious and irreparable damage to the market, while fully respecting Meta’s right of defense.

The case highlights growing tensions between Brussels and Washington, as US officials and companies increasingly criticize European regulatory actions targeting American technology giants. EU authorities, however, have repeatedly said they remain determined to enforce competition and antitrust rules without exception.

The outcome of the proceedings could have significant implications for how major technology firms integrate artificial intelligence tools across their platforms within the European Union.