Brazil Halts Meta’s Ban on Third-Party AI Chatbots for WhatsApp
▼ Summary
– Brazil’s competition authority (CADE) has ordered WhatsApp to suspend its policy blocking third-party AI chatbots from using its business API and opened an investigation into potential anti-competitive conduct.
– The investigation will examine if Meta’s updated WhatsApp Business API terms, which took effect in October, unfairly exclude competitors and favor Meta’s own AI chatbot.
– This policy change has already led companies like OpenAI, Perplexity, and Microsoft to announce their chatbots would no longer be available on WhatsApp, though businesses can still offer their own chatbots.
– Brazil’s action follows similar antitrust investigations launched by the European Union and Italy, with the EU able to impose fines of up to 10% of Meta’s global revenue for violations.
– Meta has stated the policy aims to manage system strain from AI chatbots and focus its business API on customer support, and it has already granted an exception for AI providers in Italy.
Brazil’s competition authority has intervened to suspend a new Meta policy that would have prevented third-party artificial intelligence companies from operating chatbots through the WhatsApp Business API. The move by Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) initiates a formal probe into whether the rule constitutes anti-competitive behavior by unfairly favoring Meta’s own AI chatbot within the popular messaging platform.
CADE announced it will examine if the updated WhatsApp Business Solution Terms, which Meta introduced last October, create an exclusionary environment that harms competitors. The agency’s concern centers on whether the policy unduly advantages Meta AI, the company’s proprietary chatbot, by restricting access for other AI providers. According to the regulator, there is evidence suggesting possible anti-competitive conduct of an exclusive nature stemming from the application of these new terms.
The policy change, set to take effect on January 15, explicitly bars external AI firms from using the business API to offer their chatbot services to WhatsApp users. This decision impacted several notable companies, including OpenAI, Perplexity, and Microsoft, which indicated their chatbots would cease functioning on WhatsApp once the rule was enforced. It is important to note that the policy does not prevent individual businesses from developing and using their own AI-powered chatbots for customer interactions on the platform.
This investigation in Brazil follows similar antitrust scrutiny in other regions. Both the European Union and Italy have launched their own inquiries into Meta’s new API terms. The stakes are significant; if the EU finds a violation of its competition rules, Meta could face a financial penalty of up to ten percent of its global annual revenue.
In a related development, Meta has reportedly informed AI providers that they can continue offering services to users in Italy even after the January 15 deadline, according to a notice seen by developers. It remains possible the company could issue a similar temporary reprieve in Brazil while CADE’s investigation is ongoing. Meta did not provide an immediate comment on the Brazilian order.
The company has defended its policy shift by arguing that AI chatbots are placing unexpected strain on systems originally designed for different business API functions, such as customer support and update notifications. A Meta spokesperson previously stated that the focus of the WhatsApp Business API is to assist the vast number of businesses building customer service experiences, and that users seeking alternative chatbots can access them outside of the WhatsApp ecosystem.
(Source: TechCrunch)
