The European Commission has officially charged Meta with breaching EU antitrust regulations by restricting third-party AI assistants on WhatsApp.

According to a statement released Monday, February 9, 2026, the Commission issued Meta a Statement of Objections, arguing that the October 2025 WhatsApp Business update effectively blocked all external general-purpose AI assistants, leaving only Meta’s own Meta AI accessible to users.

Regulators warn that this move could stifle competition in the rapidly expanding AI assistant market, raising concerns about fair access and innovation on the platform.

“Meta’s conduct risks blocking competitors from entering or expanding in the rapidly growing market for AI assistants,” the Commission said, adding that WhatsApp is a critical channel for AI assistants to reach consumers and that restricting access could cause serious and irreparable harm to competition.

The Statement of Objections applies throughout the European Economic Area, except Italy, where the Italian Competition Authority imposed interim measures against Meta in December 2025.

“The Commission considers Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger, to hold a dominant position in the EEA market for messaging services. By denying competitors access to WhatsApp, Meta is likely abusing that position,” the Commission said.

To limit potential harm while the investigation continues, the Commission plans to impose interim measures on Meta. These steps are intended to preserve competition and do not prejudge the outcome of the case.

“The Commission therefore 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 defence,” the Commission said.

EU-Meta case

Meta will now have a chance to address the objections and present its defence, though it has yet to issue any public statement regarding the Statement of Objections.

Should interim measures be imposed, the company might be required to permit competing AI assistants to operate on WhatsApp during the investigation, a development that could have major implications for the European AI services market.

The case emerges amid rising friction between European regulators and the administration of President Donald Trump over oversight of U.S. tech firms. Brussels has been pushing for stricter antitrust enforcement, while Washington contends that such measures unfairly single out American companies.

In December 2025, the U.S. imposed sanctions on former European Commissioner Thierry Breton and four other European officials, accusing them of censoring and suppressing American perspectives, a move widely interpreted as retaliation for Europe’s regulation of U.S. technology companies.