European Commission Orders Meta to Allow Third-Party Chatbots on WhatsApp

The European Commission (EC) has ordered Meta Platforms Inc. to once again permit third-party AI chatbots to operate on WhatsApp free of charge. According to a report by Gsmarena on Wednesday local time, the policy must be maintained until the European Union’s antitrust investigation into Meta is concluded. The dispute originated in November 2025 when Meta banned third-party chatbots on WhatsApp, whilst Meta’s own AI chatbot remained integrated within the application. In its official press release, the EC stated the measure was necessary to prevent ‘serious and irreparable harm to competition’ in the burgeoning AI assistant market. The antitrust investigation into Meta commenced in December 2025, with this latest order serving as an interim measure. The European Commission considers that, at first sight, Meta has held a dominant position in the consumer communications applications market within the European Economic Area at least since January 2023. According to the EC, Meta’s ban on third-party chatbots essentially constitutes a denial of access to infrastructure that was previously open to third parties. Meta had in fact reintroduced third-party AI chatbot access on WhatsApp in March 2026, but did so by charging an access fee. Through this latest decision, Meta is obliged to restore conditions to those prevailing before October 2025, when third-party AI chatbots could access WhatsApp free of charge. This free access must be maintained until the European Commission issues its final decision in the antitrust case.