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WhatsApp is now among the online platforms required to comply with the European Union’s most stringent transparency regulations.
Meta’s messaging service has surpassed 46.8 million monthly active users in the EU, exceeding the 45 million threshold set by the Digital Services Act (DSA) to be classified as a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP). As a result, WhatsApp must adhere to stricter oversight measures.
Once officially designated as a VLOP, the platform will have four months to implement the necessary compliance measures. However, an exact date for this designation has not yet been confirmed.
Under the DSA, VLOPs must enhance consumer protection, uphold fundamental rights, combat illegal content, and increase transparency regarding their algorithms and content moderation practices.
Meta’s other major platforms, Facebook and Instagram, are already classified as VLOPs and are currently under investigation by the European Commission for potential DSA violations.
Meanwhile, Telegram has not yet crossed the 45 million user mark within the EU, according to the Belgian Digital Services Coordinator. The Belgian Institute of Post and Telecommunications (BIPT) is awaiting further guidance from the European Commission on how user counts should be calculated, as any updates could influence official figures.
At present, regulators do not anticipate Telegram exceeding the threshold. Since Telegram’s EU headquarters are based in Belgium, BIPT oversees its compliance with the DSA unless or until it qualifies as a VLOP.
Telegram’s founder has previously stated that the company expects to reach one billion users worldwide in 2024. The messaging service, headquartered in Dubai, has already surpassed 900 million monthly users globally.
With WhatsApp’s inclusion, the number of platforms designated as VLOPs under the DSA now stands at 26. Other major platforms on the list include Google, Amazon, LinkedIn, Temu, and Shein.
With information from Euronews.
