The European Commission has sent a Supplementary Statement of Objections to Meta, indicating its intention to order the company to restore access for third-party AI assistants to WhatsApp. This follows Meta's policy change on 15 October 2025, which effectively banned these assistants from the platform.

The Commission's investigation is focused on whether Meta's actions constitute an abuse of its dominant position in the market. A previous Statement of Objections was issued on 9 February 2026, suggesting that Meta's exclusion of third-party assistants breached EU antitrust rules.

In the latest statement, the Commission assessed Meta's revised policy, which reinstated access but imposed a fee, concluding that this still effectively excludes competitors. The Commission aims to prevent serious harm to competition while the investigation continues.

Additionally, the Commission has expanded its investigation to include Italy, previously excluded due to a separate investigation by the Italian competition authority. This means the findings will now cover the entire European Economic Area (EEA).

Meta's conduct is under scrutiny as the Commission seeks to impose interim measures to protect competition in the rapidly evolving AI market. The company has the opportunity to respond to the Commission's concerns before any final decisions are made.