European Commission probes Meta over rules for AI providers' access to WhatsApp

China

European Commission probes Meta over rules for AI providers' access to WhatsApp

2025-12-05 14:34 Last Updated At：16:07

The European Commission on Thursday opened a formal antitrust investigation into Meta over a new policy that could limit artificial intelligence providers' access to WhatsApp.

Meta operates several online communication and social networking services, such as WhatsApp. AI providers currently offer their conversational AI assistants through the app for tasks such as answering questions, generating content and handling customer service queries.

Although AI providers would still be allowed to use AI for ancillary or support tasks, the Commission said Meta's new policy could prohibit AI providers from using a tool that allows businesses, where AI is the primary service, to communicate with customers via WhatsApp. However, Meta's own "Meta AI" service remains available, according to a press release by the European Commission.

The Commission said that for AI providers already present on WhatsApp, the update will apply as of January 15,2026, while for AI providers new to WhatsApp, the update has already been applicable since October 15, 2025.

The investigation covers the entire European Economic Area except Italy, where the national competition authority is already examining Meta's conduct and considering possible interim measures.

Meta is among the U.S. tech companies under heavy scrutiny from the European Commission. In September, the European Union fined tech giant Google 2.95 billion euros (about 3.45 billion U.S. dollars) for antitrust violations in the online advertising sector and announced a new investigation into Google in November.

The United States has repeatedly criticized the European Union's regulatory measures as being targeted at American companies. Google, Amazon, and others have recently said they will file appeals for the latest EU regulatory decisions.

China releases new findings on Nanjing Massacre

A new batch of historical records unveiling the atrocities committed by the invading Japanese army in the 1937 Nanjing Massacre was released at a ceremony held on Friday in a museum in east China's Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province.

The massacre following the Japanese troops' capture of Nanjing, the then Chinese capital, on Dec 13, 1937, left more than 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers dead.

Friday's ceremony in the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders was just held days before the 88th anniversary of the one of the most barbaric episodes of World War II.

The released historical records include letters of Japanese soldiers, photos taken after the occupation of Nanjing by the invading Japanese army, archival records of military medics who died in the defense of Nanjing, and the English and French periodicals.

Analysts say the newly released historical records provide irrefutable evidence for restoring the truth of history and constitute a powerful rebuttal to the claims of the Japanese right-wing forces.