EU says WhatsApp to face stricter content rules

WhatsApp is set to face greater EU scrutiny after the European Commission on Monday added the platform to its list of digital firms big enough to face stricter content rules.

The Meta-owned company joins Facebook, TikTok, X and others in a list of 26 "very large online platforms" with more than 45 million monthly active users in the European Union, a commission statement said.

As such it will face tougher obligations under the bloc's Digital Services Act (DSA), but they will apply only to WhatsApp channels, a broadcasting feature, rather than the platform's core messaging feature.