Meta Platforms’ messaging service WhatsApp reached a crucial user milestone likely to bind it to more stringent rules under the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA).

WhatsApp’s open channels, which are feeds affiliated with news outlets or public figures that under the DSA are comparable to social networks, averaged about 46.8 million monthly average users in the second half of 2024, Meta said in a filing on Feb. 14 that hasn’t previously been reported.

"WhatsApp has published user numbers above the threshold for designation as a Very Large Online Platform under the Digital Services Act,” European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said in an emailed statement on Tuesday.