Brazil Antitrust Watchdog Blocks Meta’s WhatsApp AI Ban
Brazil’s competition authority, CADE, has issued a preventive order forcing Meta to suspend its recent policy that restricted third-party AI companies from deploying chatbots via the WhatsApp Business API. The watchdog has simultaneously opened an inquiry to determine if these restrictions constitute anti-competitive behavior.
The core of the investigation focuses on whether Meta’s revised terms of service, introduced last October, are designed to exclude rivals while granting an unfair advantage to its own Meta AI integration within the messaging platform. According to CADE, there is evidence of potential “exclusive conduct” stemming from the new WhatsApp Business Solution Terms.
The Impact on AI Providers
The policy, which was scheduled to take full effect on January 15, threatened to remove several prominent AI services from the platform. Major tech firms impacted by the rule change include:
- OpenAI
- Perplexity
- Microsoft
While the regulation bars external AI developers, it notably allows individual businesses to continue using their own internal AI-powered chatbots for customer service. Meta has previously defended the restriction by claiming that third-party AI tools place excessive strain on systems originally built for standard business communication, suggesting that users seeking alternative AI experiences should access them outside of WhatsApp.
Global Regulatory Pressure
The move by Brazilian regulators mirrors growing international scrutiny regarding Meta’s control over its ecosystem. The European Union and Italy have already initiated their own antitrust investigations into the same policy. In the EU, a finding of non-compliance with antitrust regulations could result in penalties as severe as 10% of the company’s global revenue.
In response to the mounting pressure, Meta has already signaled potential flexibility. Recent notices to developers indicate that the company may allow third-party providers to maintain their services in Italy beyond the January 15 deadline. It remains to be seen if a similar exemption will be formally adopted for the Brazilian market in light of the CADE ruling.