WhatsApp is the most used messenger worldwide. Anyone who wants to change often faces problems. Because if all your friends and acquaintances are on WhatsApp, you have to be there to send messages. But this is exactly where a current EU law comes into play.
The EU Parliament passed the so-called “Digital Markets Act” in July 2022. The law forces the messenger to open up to other programs, so that WhatsApp messages can also be sent with other messengers such as Telegram, Signal or Facebook Messenger. If you want to exchange ideas with other WhatsApp users, you no longer necessarily have to have an account with the service yourself. WhatsApp is already working on implementing so-called “interoperability”.
What does opening WhatsApp and other messengers mean for security?
As early as 2021, the Federal Network Agency considered messenger use across provider boundaries. However, for a long time it was not clear how the whole thing would be implemented. One problem, for example, is the end-to-end encryption that WhatsApp and other messengers use to secure their chats. Experts warn of security problems caused by interoperability enforced by the EU. Some even saw opening the messengers while maintaining encryption as impossible. How exactly the new EU regulation will be implemented still needs to be clarified in detail. However, the EU emphasizes that all previously applicable privacy standards and encryption must be retained.
EU law forces WhatsApp to take action
WhatsApp does not implement the opening requirements voluntarily, but is obliged to do so due to EU regulations. Because of its wide reach, the messenger is considered a gatekeeper that has to open itself up to competitors. However, such a major adjustment also takes time. It has been over a year since the new regulation was introduced in summer 2022, during which WhatsApp was able to take care of the implementation.
As WABetaInfo has now found out, the messenger has used the time and has already made a big step forward in implementation. “Third-party chat support is under development and will be available in a future update to the app,” the website says. Non-Whatsapp chats could then be found in a new area called third-party chats. However, it is not yet clear when exactly the messenger will open its doors to the competition. However, it shouldn’t take too long, as the deadline set by the EU for implementation expires in around six months.
Planned for gradual implementation?
Implementation could possibly also take place gradually. Of course the same applies vice versa. Presumably, writes the Netzpolitik portal, chatting between two users across messenger boundaries will initially be possible. However, the change for group chats or even voice messages and video calls will take place much later. According to ZDF, a transition period of two years applies to WhatsApp and Facebook, and even four years to WhatsApp group chats.
Small providers excluded
Even though WhatsApp is often mentioned in connection with the interoperability required by the EU, the change applies to all major messengers. The leader of the Left Party, Martin Schirdewan, calls the EU regulation an opportunity to “clean up the Internet and fight digital monopolies”. EU MP Patrick Breyer also describes the project in a similar way. For the first time, users would have a real choice as to which messenger they want to use. Other messengers would have the chance to compete with top dog WhatsApp.
Also read: Signal, Threema, Telegram and Co. – the best alternatives to WhatsApp
But not all messengers are obliged to open up to WhatsApp or other providers. Smaller services such as the Swiss company Threema explained in the summer of 2022 that exchanging messages was “not interesting” for them for various reasons. Threema boss Martin Blatter is primarily concerned with the anonymity and security of his users. He doesn’t want to see the data in the meta group, which also includes WhatsApp and Facebook. At the same time, he sees Threema’s concept at risk due to the required interoperability. The service is chargeable, but is popular in many social groups. But if users can now also be active in these groups via WhatsApp without having to pay for Threema, then “people will stay with WhatsApp,” Blatter told Netzpolitik.