Meta has been ordered by the European Commission to restore free WhatsApp access for chatbots made by rival AI providers while the regulator finishes its antitrust investigation. The rare interim measure announced on Tuesday was deemed necessary “to prevent serious and irreparable damage to competition” in the general-purpose AI assistant market.

This is only the second time that the EU has used the emergency power in more than 20 years, Politico reports. It follows the launch of a formal investigation in December 2025 into whether Meta was abusing its market dominance by banning third-party AI chatbots from its WhatsApp messaging platform. Meta later restored access to rival chatbots “for a fee” in March, seemingly in violation of EU competition rules. Now, the Commission is ordering Meta to reinstate WhatsApp access for third-party AI rivals under the same terms and conditions that were in place before the ban, which was “notably free of charge.”

“In rapidly evolving markets, competition can be lost long before a final decision is adopted. This is why these interim measures will remain in place for the duration of the investigation, in order to prevent harm that would be almost impossible to repair,” European competition commissioner Teresa Ribera said in a statement. “These interim measures will safeguard competition in the growing market for AI assistants, by preserving a key entry point to reach consumers in Europe – WhatsApp – and allowing AI companies to innovate, scale up and reach their full potential.”

Meta has until June 15th to comply. The broader antitrust investigation is still ongoing, with no date set for a legal conclusion. If Meta ignores the order, it could face fines of up to 10 percent of annual revenue, or around $20 billion, based on 2025 earnings.

In a statement to Politico, a Meta spokesperson rejected the case as baseless and said the company plans to appeal the order:

“The European Commission has decided that OpenAI and some of the largest companies in the world can use the paid-for WhatsApp Business product for free. This is regulatory overreach subsidised by the many European companies that pay.”