The WhatsApp logo, displayed on the screen of a smartphone, August 24, 2022, Russia. PHOTO: Daniel Felipe Kutepov / Zuma Press / Profimedia
The European Commission decided on Monday that the messaging service WhatsApp must comply with stricter rules in the European Union, because its Channels function now reaches at least 45 million users in the EU bloc, reports DPA, quoted by Agerpres.
Under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), providers of “very large online platforms” are subject to stricter rules than smaller services.
WhatsApp, owned by Meta, has four months to comply with the rules, the Commission announced in a statement.
The EU is considering making WhatsApp subject to stricter content rules
The designation only applies to WhatsApp's Channels feature, which “allows recipients to broadcast information, updates and announcements to a wide audience of WhatsApp users,” the Commission said.
Private messages and calls are excluded from the application of DSA, the release states.
Under the DSA, platforms are required to quickly remove illegal content from their services – or, in the case of WhatsApp, channels – and implement safeguards to prevent election manipulation. The regulation also establishes transparency requirements for online advertising.
The Commission previously opened investigations against Meta under the DSA for infringements by its Facebook and Instagram platforms. In October, the Commission announced that Meta would be fined for its lack of data transparency and handling of illegal content on its platforms.
