Meta barred third‑party chatbots from WhatsApp last November, sparking backlash from developers and users. The move left only Meta’s own assistant in the app, limiting competition in a market the company dominates across the European Economic Area. That policy prompted regulators to step in.

In December, the European Commission opened an antitrust probe into the ban. By February, it preliminarily decided that interim measures were needed to stop “serious and irreparable harm” to the market. Those measures would restore free access for rival AI assistants in WhatsApp until the investigation concluded.

Meta complied in March by allowing paid third‑party assistants, a move the Commission said equaled the original ban. The latest order reverses that step, mandating free access from before October 2025 and keeping it in place until the Commission issues a final ruling for consumers.

This decision restores the open ecosystem WhatsApp users relied on, giving developers a level playing field and preventing Meta from leveraging its dominance to sideline competitors. The Commission’s action signals that antitrust enforcement will curb platform gatekeeping that harms innovation for the broader tech market.