European Commission probes Meta over WhatsApp fees blocking AI chatbots
The European Union (EU) is pushing Meta to let other artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots use WhatsApp without charging them, after finding out Meta's new fees might be blocking competition.
The investigation started last year over concerns that WhatsApp's new terms were blocking AI chatbot providers from using a tool to communicate with customers.
Now, the commission says Meta's conduct appears to be an abuse of its dominant position and may seriously harm competition in the market for AI assistants.
European Commission urges rollback, Meta objects
Meta isn't happy about this and argues that giving free access just shifts costs onto smaller businesses.
The European Commission wants Meta to go back to its old, more open policy, at least until a final decision is made.
If things escalate, we could see a lengthy legal showdown between Meta and the EU over what's fair in the world of AI assistants.