The Japan Times - EU says WhatsApp to face stricter content rules

The Meta-owned service joined Facebook, TikTok, X and others in a list of 26 "very large online platforms" after its "channels" feature passed 45 million monthly active users in the European Union.

The channels feature will face tougher obligations under the bloc's Digital Services Act (DSA) because it is considered a broadcasting feature distinct from its core messaging service.

"These obligations include duly assessing and mitigating any systemic risks, such as violations of fundamental human rights and freedom of expression, electoral manipulation, the dissemination of illegal content and privacy concerns," said a commission statement.

WhatsApp will have until late May to comply with the content law, which has been labelled as "censorship" and discriminatory by US President Donald Trump's government.

The platform said in its latest DSA transparency report published last year that its channels had around 51.7 million monthly active users in the 27-nation EU.

WhatsApp is already in the EU's crosshairs over its AI features, with an antitrust probe opened in December to determine if the way Meta is rolling out the tool breaches the bloc's competition rules.

- US anger -

The EU has stepped up regulatory enforcement against the world's biggest digital platforms, including many American platforms, despite strong US pushback and threats of retaliation.

Last month, it imposed its first-ever DSA fine, hitting Elon Musk's X with a 120-million-euro ($140-million) penalty for violating transparency rules -- and on Monday it opened a new probe into the generation of sexualised deepfake images by X's AI tool Grok.

Meta's other platforms already face the risk of heavy fines under DSA.

In October 2025, the EU accused Facebook and Instagram of failing to grant researchers sufficient access to public data and not providing user-friendly ways to flag illegal content or challenge content-moderation decisions.

Brussels is also investigating Facebook and Instagram over fears they are not doing enough to combat the addictive nature of the platforms for children.

And under the DSA's sister competition law known as the Digital Markets Act, Brussels slapped a 200-million-euro fine on Meta, which has appealed.

K.Yamaguchi--JT