The European Union is preparing to treat WhatsApp less like a private messenger and more like a powerful broadcast platform, tightening the screws through its toughest Digital Services Act rules. Regulators are zeroing in on WhatsApp’s public-facing Channels feature, which has rapidly grown into a mass distribution tool and now risks being treated as a systemic risk to the information space. If that happens, WhatsApp will be pushed into the same regulatory bracket as the largest social networks, with far-reaching consequences for how content is moderated and how the service operates in Europe.
From private chats to public Channels
For years, WhatsApp was politically sensitive but legally slippery, often framed as a private messaging app rather than a public platform. That distinction is now eroding as its Channels product, designed for one-to-many broadcasting, turns the app into a hybrid between a messenger and a social network. Earlier reporting shows that WhatsApp had about 51.7 m average monthly active users of its WhatsApp Channels in the European Union in the first quarter, a scale that makes it impossible for regulators to ignore.
Officials in Europe have already tightened expectations around how Channels handle harmful content, signaling that the feature is now squarely in their sights. Reporting on the bloc’s evolving stance describes stricter moderation and user data obligations for WhatsApp Channels as the app becomes the latest platform to enter the European content enforcement regime, with regulators in Europe treating the broadcast tool more like a social feed than a private chat list. That shift sets the stage for a formal reclassification under the Digital Services Act.
Why a VLOP label is on the table
The European Commission is now openly considering whether WhatsApp’s Channels should be designated as a “very large online platform,” or VLOP, under the Digital Services Act. A spokesperson for The European Commission has confirmed that such a move is under active study, highlighting that the service’s scale and role in distributing information meet the legal thresholds for the bloc’s strictest category. Another Commission statement, delivered on a Friday, underlined that a future designation “cannot be excluded,” reinforcing that the debate has moved from hypothetical to probable.
Under the Digital Services Act, platforms that exceed 45 m monthly users in Europe are eligible for this VLOP status, a bar that WhatsApp’s Channels have already cleared. Separate analysis notes that WhatsApp reaches more than 45 m users across Europe overall, reinforcing the sense that the app is operating at the same systemic scale as the largest social platforms. In that context, a VLOP label looks less like an escalation and more like the EU aligning its legal categories with on-the-ground reality.
What the DSA would actually demand of WhatsApp
A VLOP designation would not just be a badge, it would trigger a dense web of obligations that go far beyond basic notice-and-takedown rules. Under the Digital Services Act, a VLOP must carry out mandatory risk assessments, deploy mitigation measures against systemic harms, and open its algorithms and data to external scrutiny. Reporting on the Commission’s thinking makes clear that a VLOP designation would force WhatsApp to comply with the EU’s strictest legal requirements, including mandatory risk management, independent audits, and transparency reporting on how harmful content is handled.
Specialist analysis of the Digital Services Act framework notes that once a service crosses the user threshold, it must adapt its systems, staffing, and governance to meet these heightened standards. One detailed assessment of WhatsApp’s regulatory exposure explains that the app already faces numerous obligations in the EU and must provide more information to its users or risk significant fines, a warning that applies even more sharply if its Channels fall under the DSA’s toughest tier. Another focused look at WhatsApp’s New Regulatory Challenge underlines that crossing the user threshold triggers compliance with DSA rules that are designed for platforms with systemic impact, not just casual messaging tools.
Meta’s broader clash with Brussels
Any move to tighten rules on WhatsApp cannot be separated from the European Union’s wider confrontation with Meta over the power of its platforms. Meta Platforms Inc is already facing stricter rules for WhatsApp under the European Union’s content moderation regime, with earlier reporting describing how the messaging service is set to face tougher oversight as part of a broader push to rein in large digital intermediaries. A separate legal-focused analysis of Meta Platforms Inc highlights that WhatsApp will be treated more like a public platform than a private chat app once the new rules bite, especially around its Channels feature.
Meta’s leadership has already pushed back against what it sees as European regulatory overreach in adjacent areas, including the bloc’s new artificial intelligence framework. In one detailed account of the EU’s AI enforcement strategy, Meta’s leadership argued that the code of conduct represented regulatory overreach that would stifle innovation, although this reference code is not legally binding and is separate from the mandatory requirements set by the AI Office. That clash, described in analysis of the Brussels effect, shows how Meta is increasingly at odds with European regulators across multiple files, from AI to messaging, and suggests that WhatsApp’s DSA obligations will be contested rather than quietly accepted.
Enforcement risks, fines and the next phase for WhatsApp
The enforcement stakes for WhatsApp are significant if the EU decides to treat Channels as a very large online platform. Under the Digital Services Act, violations can lead to fines of up to a substantial share of global annual revenue, a threat that looms particularly large for a service embedded in Meta’s wider business. Reporting on the Commission’s deliberations notes that WhatsApp had about 51.7 m average monthly active users of its Channels in the European Union and that the DSA allows penalties of up to a significant percentage of annual revenue for violations, a combination that gives Brussels real leverage.
Specialist coverage of the Digital Services Act’s rollout indicates that WhatsApp is expected to fall under the EU’s strictest digital platform rules this month, marking the first time the regulator designates part of a messenger service as an online platform with systemic obligations. One detailed analysis explains that Jan will see WhatsApp’s Channels formally treated as a platform that must manage systemic risks, including how harmful content spreads through its broadcast tools. Another report notes that The European Commission said on a Friday that it is considering naming WhatsApp as a very large platform under the DSA and that a future designation cannot be excluded, a position captured in the Commission’s own statements.
From my perspective, the direction of travel is clear, even if the final legal form is not. Europe’s executive branch has already signaled through multiple channels that WhatsApp’s open broadcasting tools will be treated like other mass platforms, with one report explaining that The European Union’s executive branch plans to designate WhatsApp’s open channels as a very large online platform under its content rules. Another account of WhatsApp’s looming obligations notes that the service will face stricter content moderation rules in the EU as part of this upcoming designation, with Takeaways by Bloomberg AI emphasizing how the move will reshape its compliance burden. A separate legal analysis confirms that Meta’s messaging service will face stricter rules under the European Union’s content moderation regime, reinforcing that Nov marked the start of a new phase for WhatsApp in Europe. As TOI Tech Desk at TIMESOFINDIA COM reported, the objective for the Commission is to make WhatsApp more responsible for tackling harmful content, and that is exactly what the DSA’s toughest rules are designed to achieve.
More from Morning Overview