Meta's WhatsApp faces tougher EU rules as monthly users top 45 million

By Gian Volpicelli 

Meta Platforms Inc.’s messaging service WhatsApp reached a crucial user milestone likely to bind it to more stringent rules under the European Union’s Digital Services Act. 

WhatsApp’s open channels, which are feeds affiliated with news outlets or public figures that under the DSA are comparable to a social network, averaged about 46.8 million monthly average users in the second half of 2024, Meta said in a filing on Feb. 14 that hasn’t previously been reported. 

 

“WhatsApp has published user numbers above the threshold for designation as a Very Large Online Platform under the Digital Services Act,” European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. 

 

The commission, which is the EU’s executive arm, has been increasing scrutiny of social media in an attempt to rein in the power of predominantly American tech companies. Those efforts have been slammed by Donald Trump’s administration, with Vice President JD Vance last week at a European security conference criticizing EU officials for efforts to regulate online speech. 

 

The DSA content moderation rulebook imposes stricter requirements on very large online platforms, defined as those whose EU-based monthly active users exceed 45 million. Users of WhatsApp’s core messaging feature do not count toward the designation under the DSA. 

 

The commission would still need to rule that WhatsApp should be included in the more regulated tier. Under the DSA, very large online platforms must carry out risk assessments on the spread of illegal or harmful content, and put in place a mitigation strategy. Fines under the DSA can reach as much as 6 per cent of a company’s annual global sales.

 

A spokesperson for Meta did not reply to a request for comment. 

 

The DSA requires platforms to disclose user numbers every six months. Messaging service Telegram also published an update this week, saying that monthly EU users of its public channels are “significantly fewer than 45 million.” 

 

Last year, after Telegram’s Chief Executive Officer Pavel Durov was arrested in France on charges of alleged complicity in spreading child sexual-abuse imagery and other crimes, some commission officials questioned the company’s figures and sought to verify them using external sources. 

 

Telegram provided a more detailed breakdown this week to back up its user numbers. 

 

“Telegram has provided numbers to the commission focusing only on its open channels, which was one of the points we had to look into,” Regnier said during a press conference Tuesday. “Telegram confirms that they are below the threshold.”