"The EU has told Meta it has breached its rules by blocking other rival AI firms' chatbots from WhatsApp, and must make "urgent" changes. The tech giant changed the popular messaging app on 15 January - and since then only its AI assistant Meta AI can access it. But the European Commission said WhatsApp was an "important entry point" for AI chatbots like ChatGPT to reach people, and claimed Meta was abusing its dominant position by blocking them."
"Mathias Vermeulen, director at AWO, a law firm working on EU digital policies, said the preliminary findings showed firms operating in the EU could not use their control over one market "to unfairly advantage themselves in another". He said while Meta had not been found to break the law yet, if interim measures were imposed, Meta may be forced to reopen WhatsApp to third-party AI assistants."
Meta restricted access to WhatsApp on 15 January so that only its AI assistant Meta AI can use the messaging app, excluding rival AI chatbots. The European Commission identified WhatsApp as a key entry point for AI services like ChatGPT and concluded that Meta abused its dominant position by blocking competitors. The EU said Meta breached its rules and demanded urgent changes. The Commission will await Meta's formal response and may impose interim measures to prevent serious and irreparable market harm. Legal experts warned that control in one market cannot be used to unfairly advantage firms in another. The action follows broader EU enforcement under digital laws, including measures targeting TikTok.
Read at www.bbc.com
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