Italy orders Meta to open WhatsApp to rival chatbots

Italy's antitrust regulator ordered Meta in December 2024 to remove WhatsApp restrictions that blocked rival AI chatbots from the platform. The decision targets Meta's practice of using access control to block competitors. Worth flagging: the ruling may affect how Meta designs WhatsApp's premium tier, especially around letting other services work with it. European regulators increasingly view exclusive gatekeeping—letting dominant platforms block competitors—as anticompetitive. The order reflects growing pressure against closed ecosystems built on control rather than openness.