“Meta says that third-party providers will need to sign an agreement with Meta or WhatsApp before it will enable interoperability.”
The EU ordered Meta to open WhatsApp and Messenger. Meta answered by making itself the gatekeeper of the opening. Rivals must sign Meta’s contract, speak Meta’s client-server protocol, host their own media, and users must opt in to even see them. Meta already says it can’t guarantee “what a third-party provider does” with messages, which is the scare line it will use to keep users home.