JAKARTA - The ban on using the WhatsApp Business API to present official third-party chatbots is excluded for Italy and Brazil. This decision was made based on the encouragement of these two countries.
At the end of last year, Meta stated that all AI service providers (artificial intelligence) on WhatsApp must withdraw from the platform. As a result of this rule, ChatGPT and Perplexity can no longer be accessed on the messaging platform.
The company reasoned that the WhatsApp app should not be a primary replacement for external chatbot services. They also said that WhatsApp's infrastructure was not designed to accommodate third-party chatbots.
However, this move is suspected of being an abuse of a dominant position in the market according to the Italian competition authority (AGCM). The agency is concerned that this policy will hinder technical innovation and harm consumers who are more comfortable interacting through the WhatsApp interface.
"Meta's behavior appears to be an abuse because it can limit production, market access, or technical development in the AI chatbot service market," the AGCM said in its report, launching from 9to5mac on Friday, January 16, 2026.
In line with the Italian decision, the CADE regulatory body in Brazil also ordered a suspension of the regulation in order to maintain healthy competition. The two demands eventually led Meta to update their business terms and conditions specifically for the owners of phone numbers in the two countries.
Users in the two regions can now chat back with bots, such as ChatGPT, just like sending a message to a regular contact. Seeing this situation, it is likely that there will be other countries that demand similar policy changes.
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