WhatsApp Channels Under EU Spotlight: A New Era of DSA Scrutiny Looms
WhatsApp, long celebrated as a bastion of private messaging, is poised for a significant regulatory shake-up within the European Union. Its rapidly expanding ‘Channels’ feature has reportedly surged past a critical user threshold, placing the app squarely in the sights of the EU’s formidable Digital Services Act (DSA). This impending designation signals a profound shift, extending the DSA’s stringent oversight to a platform traditionally distinct from conventional social media.
The Digital Services Act: Redefining Digital Accountability
The Digital Services Act stands as a landmark piece of EU legislation, meticulously crafted to foster a safer, more transparent, and accountable online landscape. Central to its framework is the concept of “Very Large Online Platforms” (VLOPs) – digital services boasting 45 million or more average monthly active users within the EU. Once a platform earns this designation, it becomes subject to an elevated set of obligations. These include enhanced responsibilities for moderating illegal and harmful content, bolstering transparency, and implementing robust user protection mechanisms. Non-compliance carries severe financial repercussions, with potential fines reaching up to six percent of a company’s global annual revenue.
WhatsApp Channels: Crossing the 45 Million User Mark
The catalyst for WhatsApp’s potential reclassification is its ‘Channels’ broadcasting feature. Diverging from the app’s core private messaging functionality, Channels enables users to disseminate one-sided updates to an unlimited number of followers, closely mirroring the dynamics of traditional social media feeds. According to Reuters, the feature garnered approximately 51.7 million average monthly active users in the European Union during the first six months of 2025. This figure comfortably surpasses the DSA’s 45-million-user benchmark, triggering the regulatory review. A European Commission spokesperson, speaking at a daily news briefing, confirmed the Commission’s active investigation, explicitly stating, “I wouldn’t exclude a future designation.”
Implications for Meta: Navigating Enhanced Scrutiny and Potential Fines
For Meta, WhatsApp’s parent company, this potential designation heralds a new layer of regulatory complexity. The company is no stranger to the DSA’s reach, having already faced scrutiny and penalties concerning its other flagship platforms, Facebook and Instagram. In October 2025, Meta was cited for failing to adequately address illegal content reporting mechanisms on these platforms. Earlier that same month, a Dutch court mandated changes to how Meta presents timelines, emphasizing users’ right to make “free and autonomous choices” regarding profiled recommendation systems. The prospect of WhatsApp joining its sister platforms under stricter DSA rules was initially reported in November 2025, highlighting a consistent pattern of regulatory pressure on Meta within the EU.
The Road Ahead: What This Means for WhatsApp Users and Meta
As the European Commission actively deliberates WhatsApp’s designation, the messaging giant finds itself at a pivotal juncture. Its evolution from a purely private communication tool to one incorporating public broadcasting elements has undeniably captured the attention of regulators committed to enforcing digital accountability. The outcome of this review will not only reshape WhatsApp’s operational landscape within the EU but also establish a significant precedent for how other hybrid digital services are categorized and governed under the evolving framework of the DSA. Engadget has reached out to Meta for comment, and updates will follow as more information becomes available.
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