Brazil orders Meta to suspend WhatsApp AI chatbot ban

Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica (CADE), the Brazilian competition watchdog, has ordered Meta to suspend its policy banning third-party artificial intelligence companies from using the WhatsApp Business API. The policy, which Meta changed last October, was set to go into force on January 15. The suspension blocks the rules from taking effect while CADE investigates whether the policy is anti-competitive. The ban would affect third-party AI providers, including OpenAI, Perplexity, and Microsoft, which use the API to offer chatbots on the platform.

According to CADE, the investigation targets possible anti-competitive conduct of an exclusive nature arising from the new WhatsApp terms, officially known as the WhatsApp Business Solution Terms. Meta imposed these terms to regulate how artificial intelligence providers offer their technologies to users. The regulator is examining whether the policy is “exclusionary to competitors” and if it unfairly favors Meta AI, the company’s own chatbot offered on WhatsApp.

The regulatory action in Brazil aligns with similar antitrust scrutiny in the European Union and Italy. Both the European Union and Italy have launched investigations into Meta’s new policy. If the European Union finds Meta in “breach of its antitrust rules,” the company could face a fine of up to 10% of its global revenue. In response to the Italian probe, Meta has informed developers that they can continue offering their AI chatbots to users in Italy even after the January 15 deadline, suggesting the company might take a similar approach in Brazil following CADE’s order.

Meta has defended its policy by arguing that the WhatsApp Business API was not designed to host third-party AI chatbots. The company has maintained that these chatbots strain its systems, which were designed for different uses of its business API, and has suggested that users who want to access other chatbots can do so outside of WhatsApp. A Meta spokesperson defended the policy, stating: “The purpose of the WhatsApp Business API is to help businesses provide customer support and send relevant updates. Our focus is on supporting the tens of thousands of businesses who are building these experiences on WhatsApp,“

Why it matters

This regulatory push in Brazil, alongside EU and Italian probes, signals a growing global antitrust challenge to Meta’s control over the WhatsApp ecosystem and its AI integration strategy.