"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."
"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."
"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."
Brazil's antitrust regulator CADE rejected Meta's appeal to block third-party AI chatbots on WhatsApp, ruling that banning them would harm competition and be disproportionate. Meta responded by allowing rival AI companies to offer chatbots through WhatsApp's Business API for a fee, implementing pricing of $0.0625 per non-template message starting March 11. This follows a similar decision for European users announced the previous day. Meta had previously attempted to restrict third-party chatbots, claiming they strain its systems. However, developers express hesitation about resuming services due to Meta's pricing structure, which they consider prohibitively expensive.
#meta-antitrust-regulation #whatsapp-ai-chatbots #brazilian-regulatory-enforcement #platform-competition-policy
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