BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The European Commission has sent a Statement of Objections to Meta, setting out its preliminary view that Meta breached EU antitrust rules by excluding third party Artificial Intelligence assistants from accessing and interacting with users on WhatsApp. Meta's conduct risks blocking competitors from entering or expanding in the rapidly growing market for AI assistants, the Commission said in a press release.
The Commission added that it intends to impose interim measures to prevent this policy change from causing serious and irreparable harm on the market, subject to Meta's 'reply and rights of defense'.
Meta's flagship products are its social networks, such as Facebook and Instagram, and consumer communication applications, such as WhatsApp and Messenger. It also operates online advertising services and virtual and augmented reality products. Meta provides a general-purpose AI assistant, Meta AI.
On October 15, Meta announced an update of its WhatsApp Business Solution Terms, effectively banning third-party general-purpose AI assistants from the application. As a result, since January 15, the only AI assistant available on WhatsApp is Meta's own tool, Meta AI, while competitors have been excluded.
The Commission said it has informed Meta that this policy change appears to breach EU competition rules.
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