Technology & Science
EU Opens Antitrust Investigation into Meta’s WhatsApp AI Gatekeeping (4 Dec 2025)
Brussels formally triggered a competition probe on 4 December 2025 into Meta’s October WhatsApp policy that blocks rival AI chatbots while leaving “Meta AI” untouched.
Focusing Facts
- The EC opened the case under Article 102 TFEU and Article 54 EEA, covering every EEA country except Italy, which has its own parallel inquiry.
- Meta’s rules have applied to new AI providers since 15 Oct 2025 and will hit existing providers on 15 Jan 2026, potentially cutting them off from WhatsApp’s 250 m+ EU users.
- Meta’s share price bounced from roughly $605 on 29 Nov to $658 on 2 Dec 2025, but technical charts still show a down-trend ahead of the probe news.
Context
Europe’s complaint echoes the EU–Microsoft media-player case of 2004 (497 m € fine) and the 2017–19 Google Shopping saga, where bundling a dominant platform with a proprietary service was ruled abusive. The long arc here is regulators wrestling with ‘gatekeeper’ power as communication layers (telecom in the 1920s, browsers in the 1990s, app stores in the 2010s) become essential distribution rails for the next technology wave—in this instance, conversational AI. By moving before the market fully locks in, Brussels signals a shift from ex-post fines to ex-ante deterrence, aligned with its broader Digital Markets Act philosophy even though the legal basis is classic antitrust. Whether the case succeeds or not, it tests how much sovereignty governments retain over privately owned digital infrastructure; the outcome could shape who can reach billions of users through chat interfaces long after today’s platforms fade—much as the 1956 Bell consent decree opened U.S. telecom equipment markets for decades.
Perspectives
European policy-focused outlets
e.g., Verdict, RocketNews — They see Brussels’ antitrust probe as a vital step to stop Meta from locking rival AI chatbots out of WhatsApp and to keep Europe’s fast-growing AI market open. By echoing EU officials’ statements almost verbatim, they foreground possible harms while giving scant space to Meta’s technical or business justifications, reflecting a pro-regulation stance.
Business- and investor-oriented U.S. media
e.g., Investing.com, The Boston Globe — Coverage stresses Meta’s strong fundamentals and relays the company’s argument that its WhatsApp rules are a practical, system-capacity measure, implying the investigation poses little threat to long-term performance. Focusing on share price and quoting Meta’s rebuttals, they tend to downplay competition concerns that could materially affect valuation, mirroring corporate talking points.
U.S. conservative-leaning commentary
e.g., Cryptopolitan — The probe is framed as another example of the EU unfairly targeting successful American tech firms, fuelling trans-Atlantic friction and threatening U.S. competitiveness. Patriotic framing exaggerates geopolitical motives and minimizes documented antitrust issues, aligning with political voices that oppose European tech regulation.