European Union: European Commission decision designating WhatsApp as Very Large Online Platform under Digital Services Act
Progress
Current status
adopted
26 Jan 2026 adopted
Scope
Implementers
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czechia
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Policy Area
Content moderation
Policy Instrument
Content moderation regulation
Regulated Economic Activity
messaging service provider
Government Branch
executive
Government Body
other regulatory body
Implementation Level
supranational
Timeline of events
European Commission adopted decision designating WhatsApp as very large online platform under Digital Services Act
On 26 January 2026, the European Commission designated messaging service WhatsApp as a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) because it found that its “Channels” feature reached the designation threshold of at least 45 million EU users under the Digital…
SourceEvent type
order
Action type
adoption
Government branch
executive
Government body
other regulatory body