EU Investigates WhatsApp AI Bot Rules: What Portuguese SMEs Should Know

A sudden clash between Meta’s new WhatsApp AI policy and Brussels’ competition rule-book has set off alarm bells from Lisbon to Helsinki. At stake is whether the most popular messaging service in Portugal—and in most of Europe—will remain a neutral pipeline for outside innovation or tilt decisively toward Meta’s own “Meta AI” stack.

Snapshot for the Busy Reader

• Formal EU antitrust inquiry opened on 4 December into WhatsApp’s fresh restrictions on third-party AI bots.

• Meta’s rulebook already applies to new AI providers; it will blanket existing providers from 15 January 2026.

• Brussels suspects an abuse of dominant position under Article 102 TFUE; fines can run to 10% of global turnover.

• Portuguese start-ups that build customer-service chatbots face new hurdles—or a pivot to Telegram, Signal or in-house channels.

Why Portugal Should Care

Nearly 9 M Portuguese residents exchange messages on WhatsApp every month, including many of the micro-businesses that power the country’s tourism, retail and services sectors. If rival AI vendors are walled off, Portuguese companies could see

Fewer localised chatbot options, especially in European Portuguese.

Higher switching costs if forced onto Meta’s paid tools.

A ripple effect on the nascent generative-AI cluster growing around Porto and Lisbon.

Brussels Pulls the Trigger

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition announced a formal investigation after preliminary complaints from at least three AI developers and two industry associations. Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera framed the probe as a test of Europe’s resolve to keep the “next wave of tech” open: if a gatekeeper messaging app blocks rivals, “consumers and SMEs lose meaningful choice.” The file covers the entire European Economic Area, except Italy, whose own watchdog had already opened a parallel case.

Inside Meta’s Contested Policy

Announced quietly in October, the new terms forbid any general-purpose AI bot from routing conversations through the WhatsApp Business API. Narrow AI helpers—parcel-tracking, restaurant bookings, FAQ bots—are still allowed. However, competitors such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Germany’s Aleph Alpha can no longer offer full conversational agents on WhatsApp. Meta argues its servers were never engineered for limitless AI traffic and that an uncontrolled bot explosion would threaten end-to-end encryption safeguards. Critics counter that the guideline looks less like a cybersecurity tweak and more like a vertical foreclosure strategy to funnel corporate clients toward Meta AI.

The Legal Ledge: Articles 102 and 54

Under EU jurisprudence, Brussels does not need to show malevolent intent—only that Meta’s policy is “capable of producing exclusionary effects.” The Commission will weigh factors such as:• Market share—WhatsApp commands well above the 50% dominance threshold in most EU states.• Indispensability—for many SMEs, WhatsApp is the de facto channel to reach customers who ignore email.• Objective justifications—Meta must prove the restriction is proportionate to genuine technical constraints.If found culpable, penalties could exceed €10 B, and the Commission may impose behavioural remedies forcing an API reopening.

Experts Weigh In

Ishita Sharma, partner at Fathom Legal in Brussels, notes that Europe’s courts have consistently frowned on “self-preferencing” by dominant platforms, citing the Google Shopping and Android verdicts. João Ramalho, a Lisbon-based competition scholar, adds that the case will test how traditional antitrust meshes with the newer Digital Markets Act. “Even though the DMA is not formally invoked, the political backdrop is clear: gatekeepers are on a shorter leash,” he told our newsroom.

Telegram & Signal: Same Market, Different Playbook

While Meta tightens control, Telegram’s bot ecosystem remains remarkably open, hosting ChatGPT, Midjourney and dozens of niche agents. Signal, by contrast, offers almost no embedded AI, doubling down on privacy and minimal data retention. For Portuguese businesses that rely on multilingual customer engagement, Telegram’s openness could become an attractive lifeboat—though at the cost of weaker GDPR-style protections and the absence of a mainstream payments layer.

What Portuguese Firms Can Do Now

• Audit dependencies: Map any chatbot that talks to customers via WhatsApp and verify whether it falls under the “general AI” ban.• Explore dual-channel strategies: Keeping a presence on Telegram or traditional web chat can mitigate lock-in risks.• Monitor the Autoridade da Concorrência: Portugal’s competition authority often echoes Brussels but can launch its own interim measures if local SMEs face immediate harm.

The Road Ahead

The Commission will first issue a statement of objections—likely in mid-2026—after which Meta can reply. A final decision could land in late 2027, but interim commitments or a negotiated remedy are possible sooner. Meanwhile, the January 2026 deadline looms for current third-party AI providers, meaning practical consequences will hit SMEs long before any legal finale.

In a Nutshell

Brussels’ new case against Meta draws a sharp line in the sand: dominant platforms cannot quietly re-wire their terms to squeeze out independent AI innovators. For Portugal’s entrepreneurs and consumers, the verdict will shape whether the small-country advantage of quick tech adoption translates into vibrant competition—or a future where one corporate ecosystem writes the rules of digital engagement.