WhatsApp will probably get stricter European rules imposed

WhatsApp had an average of 46.8 million monthly users in the second half of 2024, according to Bloomberg, according to data that the parent company Meta submitted last Friday. The message service will therefore have to follow the stricter rules of the European Act on Digital Services (Digital Services Act, DSA). The limit for this is 45 million monthly users.

“WhatsApp has published user numbers that are above the threshold,” Thomas Regnier, spokesperson for the European Commission, also confirmed to Bloomberg on Tuesday. The European Commission must still formally decide whether WhatsApp is included in the stricter regulated category.

Power of American tech companies

Europe has performed the control of social media to restrict the power of mainly American technology companies. That decision was severely criticized by the US government of President Donald Trump. Vice President JD Vance mentioned the moderation of online messages last week “authoritarian censorship”.

The stricter European rules for companies such as WhatsApp under the Digital Services Act (DSA) mean that they have to take much more control and responsibility on the content that is shared on their platforms. Companies that do not comply with these obligations – such as risk assessment and moderation of content – can be fined that can amount to 6 percent of sales.