Euopean Commission to reclassify WhatsApp for responsibility in handling harmful content

The European Commission (EU) is reportedly looking at recategorizing social media platform – WhatsApp messaging service in a move that will make it more responsible for dealing with illegal content.

WhatsApp will also be expected to tackle harmful content on the platform, according to the EU spokesperson, as the Commission intensifies its efforts to ensure social media platforms comply with the bloc’s requirements, ranging from tackling harmful content and data privacy regulations.

As of February last year, the messaging app was the 26^th online platform to face transparency requirements under the Commission’s platform rules.

WhatsApp revealed large user numbers for the EU region

The Commission’s spokesperson told Reuters that the bloc was actively designating WhatsApp a “very large platform,” which will therefore increase its legal responsibilities to tackle damaging content.

This is after the messaging service, owned by Meta Platforms published active user numbers above the Digital Services Act (DSA) threshold in February last year.

Under the DSA, very large online platforms (VLOPs) are required to reinforce consumer protection and some fundamental rights. They are also obliged to ensure they prevent the spread of illegal content and boost transparency on algorithms and content moderation.

According to figures it published last year in its transparency report, WhatsApp said that it had reached 46.8 million monthly users on average in the EU alone. This is above the 45 million active users to be considered a VLOP under the DSA.

A Euronews report indicated that from the moment of designation, the platform had four months to comply with the rules. Though a formal date for when this was to happen had not been set, the Commission’s spokesperson on Friday showed the EU’s intentions.

Facebook and Instagram, which are also Meta’s social media platforms, are already part of the list of VLOPs. This means they are subject to the Commission’s investigations regarding possible breaches of the bloc’s DSA.

Meta and its social media platforms have been under the scrutiny of the bloc’s regulators for various reasons. Late last year, the EU regulators intensified investigations of Meta’s use of AI in WhatsApp, focusing mainly on the “Meta AI” system, which was launched in March as previously reported by Cryptopolitan.

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