Brazil Orders Meta to Suspend Ban on Third-Party AI Chatbots on WhatsApp

JAKARTA - The Brazilian Competition Regulatory Agency (CADE) ordered Meta to suspend a policy that prohibits third-party Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots from being present on WhatsApp using the business API.

This step was taken after Meta excluded Italy from the ban. According to Brazil, this ban needs to be lifted to prevent potential monopolistic practices that benefit Meta AI, the chatbot developed by the company.

Currently, CADE is still investigating whether the ban on the use of business APIs to present AI chatbots on WhatsApp is exclusive and anti-competitive. For now, CADE suspects that Meta is trying to close access for its competitors.

The reason is, before this rule was implemented, OpenAI, Microsoft, and Perplexity used the messaging platform to present their chatbots. That way, users can access ChatGPT, Copilot, and Perplexity directly on WhatsApp.

"There is a possibility of exclusive anti-competitive behavior from the implementation of the New WhatsApp Terms imposed by Meta on AI tool providers," CADE said, launching from TechCrunch on Wednesday, January 14.

The ban on presenting AI chatbots on WhatsApp will only take effect on January 15. With the issuance of this order from the Brazilian authorities, AI service providers who want to use the WhatsApp platform may be able to get rid of the ban.

Before this ban was issued, Meta stated that this rule was issued to maintain its platform. The presence of third-party AI chatbots is claimed to provide excessive technical load on its business API system because the WhatsApp infrastructure is only developed to serve customers.

"The goal of the WhatsApp Business API is to help businesses provide customer support and send relevant updates. Our focus is on supporting tens of thousands of businesses that are building this experience on WhatsApp," a Meta spokesperson said some time ago.

In response to this legal pressure, Meta may provide special exemptions for users in Brazil as it did in Italy. However, until this news was made, Meta has not issued a response regarding the order to lift the ban issued by CADE.