Overview
- Brussels designated WhatsApp’s public Channels a very large online platform after concluding the feature exceeds 45 million EU monthly users.
- The move shifts supervision from Ireland to the European Commission and focuses on illegal content removal, election integrity and ad transparency in Channels.
- Private messages and group chats remain protected by end‑to‑end encryption and are expressly excluded from the Commission’s remit.
- Meta has until May 2026 to align Channels with Digital Services Act requirements, with fines possible for failures to comply.
- Separate EU actions continue against Meta over AI access and competition issues, while WhatsApp is rolling out a ‘Strict Account Settings’ security mode and a paid ad‑free option for EU/UK users has been reported but not confirmed.