CADE launches administrative inquiry against Meta

On 12 January, the Office of the Superintendent General at CADE (SG) launched an administrative enquiry against companies owned by the Meta group to investigate alleged abuse of dominant position.

According to the investigations, there are possible anticompetitive practices arising from the New WhatsApp Terms (WhatsApp Business Solution Terms) imposed by Meta, aiming to regulate access and provision of AI tool providers’ technologies to users.

Therefore, the SG issued an interim measure to suspend the application of the New Terms until CADE can properly assess all evidence of the identified antitrust violation, in order to preserve the current competition conditions, and ensure the effectiveness of the investigation.

The authority is analysing whether the proposed changes have the potential to close markets, exclude competitors, and unduly favour Meta's proprietary artificial intelligence tool (Meta AI), which could become the only option available to platform users.

Once the administrative enquiry is launched, the companies are to be notified to submit their statements, while the SG will gather market information to assess the evidence of antitrust violations.

At the end of the enquiry, CADE will decide to launch an administrative proceeding or to dismiss the case.

On the subject

Abuse of dominant position practices involving digital markets as well as artificial intelligence tools are the target of several international investigations, and remains under review by competition authorities in Brazil and abroad.

Access Case no.08700.012397/2025-63.