EU designates WhatsApp “very large platform”, triggering DSA rules

Brussels – WhatsApp has over 45 million active users within the European Union, making it a very large online platform (VLOP) under the DSA, the Digital Services Act. The EU Commission has therefore included the well-known instant messaging app among the internet operators subject to the stringent rules to which the operator must comply within four months. 

Specifically, Meta, the company that controls WhatsApp, will be required to assess and adequately mitigate any systemic risks associated with its services, such as violations of fundamental human rights and freedom of expression, electoral manipulation, dissemination of illegal content and privacy issues. Virtually any type of content exchanged—audio, video, text—must be free of illegal content, hate speech, and the promotion of illegal products. The deadline for compliance is mid-May. 

With WhatsApp, virtually all commonly used apps and programmes end up falling within the scope of EU rules and the European Commission’s control systems, which has already declared Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Alibaba AliExpress, Amazon Store, Apple AppStore, Zalando, and Google services such as Google Play, Google Maps and Google Shopping to be “very large online platforms.”