WhatsApp Hits Critical Size and Comes Under EU’s DSA Regulations

WhatsApp has now reached a critical size in the EU, which means that it is subject to stricter legal bases. In particular, the platform will be treated according to the Digital Services Act (DSA) in the future.

More than 45 million users

The parent company Meta had submitted a new number of user numbers to the EU on February 14th. According to this data, the open channels on WhatsApp, which are assigned to news platforms or public personalities, reached an average of 46.8 million monthly users in the second half of 2024. These channels are comparable to the EU with social networks according to the Digital Services Act (DSA).

“WhatsApp has published user numbers that exceed the threshold for classification as a very large online platform according to the DSA,” Thomas Regnier, spokesman for the EU Commission, told the news agency Bloomberg. According to the rules of the DSA, platforms with more than 45 million monthly active users in the EU are considered “very large online platforms” and are subject to stricter regulations on the content of content.

Among other things, this includes mandatory risk analyzes for the distribution of illegal or harmful content as well as strategies to contain them. Companies that violate these regulations threaten sensitive fines of up to six percent of their global annual sales. The actual messaging function of WhatsApp remains unaffected by this classification.

Commission is required

However, the EU Commission still has to formally decide whether WhatsApp is included in the strictly regulated category. According to DSA, platforms are obliged to disclose their user numbers every six months. The Messaging Service Telegram has also released a corresponding update this week and explained that the monthly users of its public channels in the EU are well below 45 million.

Whether WhatsApp is subject to stricter EU regulations depends on the further examination of the EU Commission. Meta itself has not yet commented on developments. However, the company – as with other US companies – hopes for the new US government. Vice President JD Vance had already sharply criticized the EU regulatory plans last week and wrongly claimed that they would work against freedom of expression.