Days after opening an administrative inquiry against Meta AI, the General Superintendence (SG) of the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade) sent a questionnaire to WhatsApp and Facebook to be answered by January 30th. In the Brazilian legal context, the two companies are often treated together, as they belong to the same economic group, Meta.
The Cade technical area questionnaire is made up of three sections: 1) General questions; 2) Processing of AI services; and 3) Changes to WhatsApp’s Terms of Use. Among the items that the antitrust authority requests information about are a list of the number of AI providers who provide their services in WhatsApp Business Solutionglobally and in Brazil, and the description of the categories of third-party services that can be integrated into the platform.
The Brazilian competition body also asks the company to respond if, after changing the terms of the WhatsApp Business Solution announced in October 2025, there is no distinction in treatment between artificial intelligence services offered by third parties and AI functionalities or services developed, controlled or operated by Meta Group companies.
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In the letter, the SG warned that the refusal, omission or unjustified delay of the requested information or documents could result in a daily fine of R$5,000, which could be increased by up to 20 times, “if necessary to guarantee its effectiveness, due to the economic situation of the offender”.
The investigation began in November 2025, when startups of chatbots Zapia and Luzia represented against Meta at Cade. The accusation from AI virtual assistants – who operate mainly through WhatsApp and Telegram – is that the New WhatsApp Terms (WhatsApp Business Solution Terms) will ban developers and providers of generative artificial intelligence services and solutions from the platform (AI Providers or AI Developers), granting an artificial monopoly to Meta AI.
Preventive measure determinations
On Friday, the 16th, Facebook’s representative office in Brazil informed the antitrust body that it was complying with the SG’s determinations within the stipulated deadlines and in a “technically viable way, given the constantly evolving circumstances”.
The first determination was for Meta to suspend, on a temporary basis, the application of the updated provisions of the WhatsApp Business Solution Termsuntil final decision or Cade’s decision to suspend the preventive measure. Meta said it has revised the terms in Brazil to allow general-purpose AI chatbots to use the Meta API. WhatsApp Business – the official tool for businesses to integrate with WhatsApp – to reach users in Brazil (i.e. connected WhatsApp users with phone numbers that have the country code +55).
The company highlighted that, with the exception of WhatsApp users who have phone numbers registered with an Italian or Brazilian country code – providers and developers of artificial intelligence or machine learning technologies are “strictly prohibited” from accessing or using the Solution WhatsApp Businessdirectly or indirectly, for the purpose of providing, making available, offering, selling or otherwise making available such technologies when such technologies constitute the primary functionality offered for use. This update was published on January 15, 2026 and came into effect on the same date, according to the company.
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Regarding the item that required the company to “refrain from adopting any new provisions whose purpose is, or which are capable of, even indirectly, producing, in whole or in part, effects similar to those of the provisions indicated above”, Meta clarified that “no provision of this nature has been adopted in relation to users of the WhatsApp Business API in Brazil, and that the revised terms mentioned above are currently in force”.
Finally, the third determination, for the company to publicize the preventive measure on Meta’s website and promote formal notification of generative AI providers, Meta said that a notice would be published within the established deadline, that is, by January 18th.
In addition, Facebook Brazil reported that WhatsApp also notified the companies it managed to identify as AI Providers, including those it represented against the group. The technology giant told Cade that it will continue to comply with the SG’s decision and “remains at the authority’s disposal for any additional clarifications”.
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The questionnaire sent to Meta is a phase of the procedural investigation of the administrative investigation underway at Cade. The company may request restricted access to some information provided to the agency. The investigation must be closed within 180 days, extendable for up to 60 days, renewable, when the fact is difficult to elucidate. At the end of the procedure, Cade may decide to open an administrative proceeding or close the case.
