EU regulators order Meta to allow rival AI chatbots free access to WhatsApp

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS, June 9 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators connected Tuesday ordered Meta Platforms to springiness rival AI chatbots escaped entree to WhatsApp ‌while they proceed to analyse whether the institution abused its marketplace powerfulness ‌by blocking competitors from the messaging app.

The European Commission's determination to contented an interim measurement against Meta - ​its archetypal successful 17 years - followed complaints from The Interaction Company of California, developer of the Poke.com AI assistant, French AI startup Agentik and a Spanish rival.

Those complaints prompted the Commission, the EU's contention enforcer, to unfastened an probe successful December past year. It ‌issued charges against Meta 2 ⁠months later, alleging breaches of EU antitrust rules.

"In rapidly evolving markets, contention tin beryllium mislaid agelong earlier a last determination is adopted," ⁠EU antitrust main Teresa Ribera said successful a statement.

"These interim measures volition safeguard contention successful the increasing marketplace for AI assistants, by preserving a cardinal introduction constituent to scope consumers successful ​Europe – WhatsApp – ​and allowing AI companies to innovate, standard ​up and scope their afloat potential," ‌she said.

Meta criticised the Commission order.

"The European Commission has decided that OpenAI and immoderate of the largest companies successful the satellite tin usage the paid-for WhatsApp Business merchandise for free," a Meta spokesperson said successful an email.

"This is regulatory overreach subsidised by the galore European companies that pay. We volition appeal."

Meta barred rival AI services from ‌accessing its WhatsApp for Business exertion programming interface, ​which allows companies to link their systems to WhatsApp, ​in October past year, portion ​exempting its ain adjunct Meta AI. In March it allowed the ‌competitors backmost onto the level for a ​fee, a determination that ​drew the Commission's objection.

Under the interim measure, Meta indispensable reconstruct rivals' entree to the WhatsApp for Business API connected the aforesaid presumption and conditions that ​applied earlier October, wrong 5 ‌working days.

Meta faces a good of up to 10% of its planetary ​annual turnover if recovered to person breached EU antitrust rules.

(Reporting by Foo ​Yun Chee; Editing by Mark Potter/Sudip Kar-Gupta)