WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms, has crossed a major threshold in Europe: its “Channels” feature passed 46.8 million monthly active users in the second half of 2024. That figure now places WhatsApp Channels in the category of Very Large Online Platforms (VLOP), as defined by the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA).
What does this mean for the platform and its users?
The DSA sets out to regulate large digital platforms operating in the European market, imposing stronger obligations once a service exceeds 45 million monthly users:
- Mechanisms for reporting illegal content
- Stronger content moderation
- Strict restrictions on targeted advertising, particularly towards minors
- Algorithmic transparency
Stronger user control over personal data
In response to this new regulation, WhatsApp officially updated its privacy policy on 16 February 2025, in line with the DSA's requirements.
🔎 Note: only the Channels feature (comparable to a social network through its one-way broadcasting of content) is affected by this classification. WhatsApp's private messaging services remain outside the VLOP scope.
What this tells companies
This regulatory shift illustrates a key issue for every company operating in the digital ecosystem: growth in digital audiences inevitably comes with a stronger regulatory framework.
For WhatsApp, that could mean:
- A shift in product governance
- Stricter processes around data usage
- An opportunity to strengthen its legitimacy and the trust of the European public
Finally, this milestone confirms one thing: WhatsApp is no longer just a messaging app. It is now a media platform of real scale, and a structuring part of brands' digital strategies.
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