The DSA club is logically going to welcome a new member. In the second half of 2024, Meta counted 46.8 million monthly users of WhatsApp channels in the European Union. Launched in 2023, these channels allow users to receive updates from people and organisations, directly in the application.
WhatsApp in Brussels' sights
In the eyes of the Commission, this function is similar to a social network, and in truth Meta will hardly be able to say otherwise. By crossing the threshold of 45 million monthly users, an online service can be designated as a very large platform (VLOP, Very Large Online Platform) and therefore registered in the register of the regulation on digital services. A spokesperson for the European executive confirmed this to Bloomberg.
The platforms regulated by the DSA, including Facebook and Instagram (from Meta), the Apple App Store, the Google Play Store, YouTube, X/Twitter and many others, are required to protect consumers and their fundamental rights, prevent illegal and harmful activities online, and prevent the spread of disinformation. These rules would only apply to WhatsApp channels, not to traditional messaging.
The regulator has yet to decide on the fate of WhatsApp and its status as a very large online platform. What was until now a purely technical decision has taken a very political turn since the return of Donald Trump to the White House and the highly publicized visit of J.D. Vance, his vice-president, to Munich for a conference on security.
The latter has in fact accused the EU of “censoring” free expression and of restricting AI innovation with its regulations. A position at odds with the fight against disinformation and hate speech that the European authorities want to lead. Meta, who is making a big effort to get closer to the new political situation in the United States, has not failed to threaten the EU on a few occasions recently.
Source: Bloomberg
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