AI rules on WhatsApp: EU Commission launches investigation into Meta

The EU Commission is investigating Meta on suspicion of hindering competition. The reason is a change in the terms of service for business partners ("WhatsApp Business Application Programming Interface terms") announced by the provider in October. It is to apply from mid-January also to business customers who had already linked their services with WhatsApp before October.

The EU Commission is of the opinion that Meta prohibits third-party providers from using WhatsApp for AI services with these terms. Among other things, the terms state that it is prohibited to use "Business Solution data, including any anonymized, aggregated, or derived forms of Business Solution data, by third parties for the purpose of creating, developing, training, or improving machine learning or artificial intelligence systems, models, or technologies, including large language models (collectively referred to as ‘AI models’)". Only if AI applications are merely a feature of an application, for example with help bots for services, should their use be permitted. However, since Meta continues to grant itself full access with "Meta AI", the initial suspicion of the EU Commission is that this could constitute a violation of competition law by self-preferencing the company.

Meta: Allegations are without substance

A company spokesperson describes the allegations as "unsubstantiated" in an initial statement. "The emergence of AI chatbots on our Business API is straining our systems in ways they were not designed for." Nevertheless, the area is highly competitive, "people have access to the services of their choice in many ways, including app stores, search engines, email services, partner integrations, and operating systems."

A in-depth investigation will now take place, explains the EU Commission. "We must ensure that European users and companies can fully benefit from this technological revolution," says the responsible Competition Commissioner Teresa Ribeira. The Commission would therefore act now to prevent innovative competitors from being excluded.

In recent months, the EU Commission has already focused its competition law investigations on the area surrounding AI. The behavior of the EU Commission and other European supervisory authorities is a point of contention between the US government and the EU side.

(vbr)