Brazil’s competition watchdog has ordered WhatsApp to suspend its policy that prevents third-party AI companies from using its business API to offer chatbots on the app. The agency, known as CADE, has also opened an investigation to determine if this policy is anti-competitive.
CADE stated it will examine whether Meta’s terms are exclusionary toward competitors and unduly favor Meta AI, the company’s own chatbot offered on WhatsApp. The investigation follows a change made by Meta last October to its WhatsApp Business API terms, which banned third-party AI companies from offering their chatbots on the platform.
Following this policy change, companies like OpenAI, Perplexity, and Microsoft announced their chatbots would no longer be available on WhatsApp after the rules take effect on January 15. It is important to note that Meta’s policy does not prevent businesses from offering their own chatbots, whether AI-powered or not, to their customers on WhatsApp.
CADE’s action comes after the European Union and Italy each launched their own antitrust investigations into the same policy. If the EU finds Meta in breach of its rules, the company could face a fine of up to 10 percent of its global revenue.
In response to the Italian investigation, Meta has informed AI providers that they can continue offering their chatbots to users in Italy even after the January 15 deadline. The company could make a similar concession in Brazil following the order from CADE. Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside of regular business hours.
Meta has consistently stated that AI chatbots are straining systems designed for different uses of its business API. The company has said that people who wish to use different chatbots can do so outside of WhatsApp. A Meta spokesperson previously explained that the purpose of the WhatsApp Business API is to help businesses provide customer support and send relevant updates, and that their focus is on supporting the businesses building these experiences.