Lilongwe, January 5, 2026 — AdLegal International has filed a complaint with the COMESA Competition & Consumer Protection Commission alleging that Meta Platforms used changes to WhatsApp Business Solution Terms to exclude third-party general-purpose AI chatbot services from WhatsApp across the COMESA region while preserving and preferentially integrating Meta AI.
The complaint, dated and filed on January 5, 2026, is brought under Regulation 67 and Regulation 68(1)(a) and (b) of the COMESA Competition and Consumer Protection Regulations, 2025. AdLegal alleges violations of Regulation 36(1)(a), (b), and (c) and claims Meta holds a dominant position in “the market for consumer communication services via apps in the COMESA Region” under Regulation 35.
At the center of the filing are amendments introduced in October 2025 to WhatsApp Business Solution Terms that created a dedicated “AI Providers” section. The complaint says the revised terms bar providers of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies from accessing or using the WhatsApp Business Solution when those technologies are the “primary (rather than incidental or ancillary) functionality” being made available, as determined by Meta “in its sole discretion.”
The filing names a range of services described as affected, including OpenAI (ChatGPT), Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity, Poke, and Luzia.
AdLegal argues the restriction functions as a refusal to grant access to a “critical distribution channel,” and amounts to self-preferencing and leveraging from consumer communication services into the adjacent market for general-purpose AI chatbot and AI assistant services. The complaint says WhatsApp’s “exceptional penetration and habitual use across COMESA Member States” means the exclusion could produce market tipping, user lock-in, and “irreversible competitive harm.”
The complaint sets out a timeline for implementation. It says the revised terms applied immediately from October 15, 2025, to AI providers not previously present on WhatsApp, and that from January 15, 2026, the restrictions will apply to AI providers already operating on WhatsApp. The filing adds that the exclusion is framed as applying “without exceptions, limitations, or transitional arrangements of any kind.”
AdLegal also points to product design changes that it says further integrate Meta AI into WhatsApp, including an “Ask” button within the search bar and an “Ask Meta AI” option when forwarding messages. The complaint argues these features give Meta AI broader visibility and functionality than competing AI chatbots.
In its requested relief, AdLegal asks the Commission to issue an interim order directing Meta to “immediately suspend the application and enforcement” of the October 15, 2025, contractual amendments scheduled to take effect on January 15, 2026, pending completion of investigations. In the alternative, the complaint asks the Commission to proceed with substantive investigations after implementation and order Meta to cease applying the provisions restricting general-purpose AI chatbot providers from WhatsApp within the COMESA region.
