Tens of thousands march across Sydney Harbour Bridge for Gaza
In defiance of heavy rain and official resistance, tens of thousands marched across Sydney’s iconic Harbour Bridge on Sunday, calling for peace and ...
Brussels, February 17, 2025 – WhatsApp may soon face further regulatory scrutiny in the European Union after its open channels for news sources and public figures surpassed 46.8 million monthly users in the region during the latter half of 2024.
This milestone pushes the platform over the 45-million user threshold that classifies it as a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA).
Under the DSA, entities designated as VLOPs are subject to a range of enhanced regulatory requirements. These include stringent standards for transparent advertising, robust content moderation protocols, annual independent audits, and mandatory data sharing with EU authorities. Additionally, platforms must actively assess and mitigate risks associated with harmful or illegal content.
WhatsApp’s parent company, Meta, is already designated as a VLOP alongside other major tech firms such as ByteDance, Amazon, and Google. The European Commission now faces the decision of whether to extend this designation to WhatsApp’s open channels—a move that could impose further obligations on the widely used messaging service.
This development is part of the EU’s broader initiative to reinforce digital accountability among large online platforms, aiming to safeguard public interests and ensure a safer online environment. As the Commission deliberates, stakeholders and users alike will be watching closely to see how any new regulations might impact WhatsApp’s operations within the EU.
The world’s biggest dance music festival faces an unexpected setback as a fire destroys its main stage, prompting a last-minute response from organisers determined to keep the party alive in Boom, Belgium.
According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the Oaxaca region of Mexico on Saturday.
Australian researchers have created a groundbreaking “biological AI” platform that could revolutionise drug discovery by rapidly evolving molecules within mammalian cells.
Australian researchers have pioneered a low-cost and scalable plasma-based method to produce ammonia gas directly from air, offering a green alternative to the traditional fossil fuel-dependent Haber-Bosch process.
A series of earthquakes have struck Guatemala on Tuesday afternoon, leading authorities to advise residents to evacuate from buildings as a precaution against possible aftershocks.
Türkiye’s first domestically produced electric SUV, the Togg T10X, is expected to hit the German market by the end of 2025, German daily Bild reported.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, sending an international crew of four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the Dragon spacecraft as part of NASA’s Crew-11 mission.
OpenAI is set to launch its first European data centre under the Stargate programme, partnering with developer Nscale Global Holdings and Norwegian investment firm Aker ASA to establish a $1 billion facility in Norway, the companies announced on Thursday.
You may not think much about ammonia, but it plays a huge role in your life. It's a key ingredient in fertilisers that help grow nearly half the world's food. It could also be the future of clean energy. But the way we make ammonia today is dirty, outdated, and energy hungry.
Germany is rapidly reinventing its defence sector, channelling billions into Artificial Intelligence (AI), drone tech, and military innovation with start-ups like Helsing leading a once-unthinkable arms race in Europe.
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