WhatsApp has four months to comply with new EU regulations or face a multi-million dollar fine
Meta’s relationship with the EU is fraught with controversy. Mark Zuckerberg’s company has faced an €800 million fine in the past for abusing its Facebook marketplace, and now it is alleged to have violated the Digital Services Act with WhatsApp.
The EU has deemed the messaging app to meet the requirements to be considered a very large online platform (VLOP). Facebook and Instagram achieved this milestone in April 2023, but it comes with some liabilities.
One requirement to join the select group of VLOPs is to be a platform or search engine with more than 45 million monthly users in the EU. Booking and TikTok have made it into this category, but WhatsApp remains outside despite having more than 100 million users in the EU.
The European Commission has warned that platforms deemed VLOPs must conduct risk assessments on the spread of illegal content on their platform. Meta has a responsibility to devise strategies to mitigate these risks.
The tech giant has the freedom to mitigate risks, from creating a moderation system to adding new features that allow users to regulate their activity on the messaging app.
WhatsApp will be audited at least once a year and will have to comply with recommendations it receives. Mark Zuckerberg’s company will be obliged to share its data with the European Commission and national authorities to assess its compliance with the law.
Meta now meets WhatsApp’s criteria to be considered a VLOP, but the tech giant still has to wait for the official designation. Once the EU formalizes the change, the company will have four months to comply with the new obligations of the Digital Services Act.
The EU can impose fines on companies of up to 6% of their annual sales. Meta is one of the largest companies in the world, with total revenues of €48.38 billion a year.
The company that owns WhatsApp is not the first to run afoul of EU laws. Even Apple CEO Tim Cook held talks with Donald Trump before he was elected to discuss how to comply with the Commission’s regulatory framework. The current president has promised that he will not tolerate abuses against US companies.
Other companies, such as Amazon, have rejected the EU’s VLOP category with platforms like Amazon Store to avoid increased regulation of their activities. For its part, Google has explicitly stated that it will not comply with the European law against disinformation.