The European Commission has formally classified WhatsApp as a “very large online platform” under the EU’s Digital Services Act, a decision that elevates the messaging app into the bloc’s tightest regulatory regime. Brussels says WhatsApp’s “Channels” feature—used to broadcast updates to wide audiences—meets the DSA threshold of at least 45 million users in the EU, triggering additional legal obligations for Meta Platforms within a four‑month compliance window.
The designation carries concrete duties: WhatsApp must now conduct thorough systemic‑risk assessments, implement measures to mitigate risks originating on its service, improve transparency, and beef up mechanisms for handling illegal and harmful content. The DSA also exposes companies to steep penalties for non‑compliance—up to 6% of global annual turnover—placing material economic and operational stakes behind the policy change.
Brussels has already applied the same classification to a roll call of Big Tech: Facebook and Instagram, Google’s YouTube, Microsoft’s LinkedIn and Amazon have previously been designated under the DSA’s largest‑platform rules. Adding WhatsApp signals the EU’s intent to treat broadcast‑style features inside encrypted messaging services the same way it treats traditional social networks and marketplaces when they reach systemic scale.
That approach forces a reappraisal of product architectures that have long prioritized private, end‑to‑end encrypted conversations. WhatsApp’s core encryption complicates content moderation, meaning compliance will likely rely on a mix of stronger reporting tools, metadata‑based risk controls, layered safety features in channels, and new governance processes rather than conventional content scanning. The DSA does not explicitly require breaking encryption, but it does require demonstrable, effective measures to reduce systemic harms arising from the service.
For Meta, the designation raises both regulatory friction and engineering challenges. The company must document and deploy risk‑mitigation policies, submit to independent audits, and open certain platform data to vetted researchers and authorities. Operational costs and external scrutiny will increase, and any missteps may invite the DSA’s maximum fines and reputational damage in the EU market.
The decision matters beyond Meta. It cements the EU’s role as a global laboratory for digital governance: its rules are increasingly the model other jurisdictions watch and adapt. Platforms worldwide will be assessing how broadcast‑capable features inside private messaging apps alter regulatory exposure, and whether product design can reconcile privacy, safety and legal obligations.
For users and civil‑society actors, tougher rules could mean faster removal of demonstrably illegal content and better transparency about how platform features reach audiences. Yet there is also a risk that compliance incentives nudge companies toward more intrusive metadata collection or blunt features that have been valued for privacy. The trade‑offs between safeguarding users and preserving encrypted private communications will be a central battleground in the months ahead.