Overview
- EU regulators added WhatsApp’s Channels feature to the VLOP list after it surpassed the 45 million EU-user threshold, with about 51.7 million monthly users reported.
- The decision applies to the Channels broadcasting feed only and explicitly excludes WhatsApp’s private messaging service.
- Meta has roughly four months, until late May, to assess and mitigate systemic risks defined by the DSA.
- Failures to meet the law’s requirements can lead to fines of up to 6 percent of global annual turnover.
- WhatsApp said Channels are growing and pledged to evolve safety and integrity measures, as the EU steps up enforcement that includes an antitrust probe into WhatsApp’s AI and recent penalties against X.