EU Considers Applying Tougher Content Rules to WhatsApp Under Digital Services Act

The European Union is considering making WhatsApp more accountable for tackling illegal and harmful content after the messaging platform crossed a key user threshold under the bloc’s digital regulations, a European Commission spokesperson said on Friday.

WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms, reported about 51.7 million average monthly active users for its WhatsApp Channels service in the European Union during the first six months of 2025. This exceeds the 45 million user threshold set by the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), potentially bringing the service under stricter regulatory oversight.

The DSA imposes tougher obligations on so-called “very large online platforms,” requiring them to take stronger action against illegal and harmful content. Platforms already designated under this category include Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Temu and LinkedIn.

European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said the Commission’s focus is on distinguishing between private messaging, which falls outside the scope of the DSA, and public-facing features such as WhatsApp Channels, which function more like social media platforms.

“The objective for the Commission is to check what is actually private messaging, which doesn’t fall under the scope of the DSA, and what are open channels that act more as a social media platform, which do fall under the scope of the DSA,” Regnier told a daily press briefing. He added that the Commission is actively examining the issue and did not rule out formally designating WhatsApp Channels under the DSA.

WhatsApp was not immediately available for comment.
If designated as a very large online platform, WhatsApp could face fines of up to 6% of its global annual revenue for breaches of the DSA.