Apple in Brazil: Ex Post Antitrust Meets Ex Ante Ambitions
Brazil’s competition authority (CADE) and Apple signed a Dec. 29 settlement agreement (Termo de Compromisso de Cessação, or TCC) resolving a high-stakes antitrust investigation Mercado Livre initiated in 2022 in Brazil and Mexico. Mercado Livre is Latin America’s leading e-commerce and marketplace platform.
The agreement marks a watershed moment for Brazil’s digital economy. CADE will require Apple to restructure its iOS ecosystem by enabling third-party app stores, allowing alternative payment processors, and removing anti-steering restrictions. Through traditional ex post antitrust enforcement, CADE secured changes that legislative proposals—such as Bill 4.675/2025—would impose through ex ante regulation.
This post analyzes the settlement’s legal framework, CADE’s controversial market definition, the remedies’ proposed fee structure, and the agreement’s broader implications for the global digital-competition debate.