"The European Commission will give WhatsApp's open channels the designation of Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) under the Digital Services Act (DSA), Bloomberg reports. The Commission has yet to make a public announcement on the matter, but has reportedly told Meta. This label gives the EU greater regulatory power over WhatsApp in areas such as content moderation and data sharing. WhatsApp will also need to conduct an annual independent audit and have transparent advertising practices, among other mandates."
"In February, WhatsApp announced that it had averaged about 46.8 million EU users in the second half of 2024. The DSA states that the VLOP designation should be given when a platform exceeds 45 million monthly EU users. This designation will strictly be for WhatsApp's open channels feature. Individual messaging should not be impacted in any way and should remain private between the parties involved. Alongside Facebook and Instagram, WhatsApp joins companies such as Amazon, Google and ByteDance in the VLOP designation."
WhatsApp's open channels will receive the Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) designation under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA). The VLOP status grants the EU expanded regulatory authority over content moderation and data-sharing practices for the open channels feature. WhatsApp must conduct an annual independent audit and implement transparent advertising practices among other mandated requirements. The designation follows WhatsApp reporting an average of about 46.8 million EU users in the second half of 2024, surpassing the 45 million monthly user threshold for VLOP. The designation applies only to open channels; individual private messaging remains unaffected. WhatsApp joins other VLOP companies including Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, Google, and ByteDance.
Read at Engadget
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