Meta is now allowing rival AI companies to provide their chatbots on WhatsApp to Brazilian users for a fee, a day after the company confirmed a similar decision for users in Europe.
Earlier this week, Brazil’s antitrust regulator CADE ruled against Meta and rejected its appeal to block an earlier order to suspend its policy change that seeks to bar third-party AI chatbots on WhatsApp.
“Upon reviewing the case, the CADE Tribunal determined that the necessary requirements for maintaining the preventive measure were present. According to the case rapporteur, Councilor Carlos Jacques, there is evidence of legal plausibility, considering the relevance of WhatsApp in the Brazilian instant messaging services market,” CADE’s ruling reads.
The regulator added that banning third-party AI chatbots on WhatsApp “would not be proportionate” and could result in competitive harm.
Meta said in response that it would let third-party AI chatbot providers use its WhatsApp Business API to offer their services on the app for a fee, wherever it is legally required to do so. The company will charge $0.0625 per “non-template message” in Brazil from March 11.
“Where we are legally required to provide AI chatbots through the WhatsApp business API, we are introducing pricing for the companies that choose to use our platform to provide those services,” a Meta spokesperson said.
Meta announced the policy change last October, which spurred several antitrust investigations, particularly because the company offers its own AI chatbot, Meta AI, inside WhatsApp. The company has maintained that its WhatsApp Business API was not designed to cater to AI chatbots and that they put a strain on the company’s system.
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While Meta is now allowing third-party chatbots in some regions because of regulations, developers tell TechCrunch that they are hesitant to resume services, saying the pricing set by Meta is high and could result in high costs.
Zapia, one of the companies that filed the complaint with CADE in Brazil, welcomed the decision.
“Competition and preventing powerful companies from limiting how innovation reaches users. At Zapia, we believe people should be free to choose the AI tools they use, and innovation only thrives when the platforms people rely on every day remain open. We will continue challenging these restrictions across the rest of Latin America, and we now look forward to seeing how Meta adapts its policies in Brazil to comply with the decision,” it said in a statement.
