Meta has announced its plans to align WhatsApp and Messenger with the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), specifically addressing how these platforms will maintain end-to-end encryption (E2EE) while ensuring interoperability with third-party messaging services.
Under the DMA’s regulations, Meta is required to facilitate interoperability with other services within three months after a request is made. However, Meta indicates that making this feature publicly available might extend beyond this timeframe. Initially, the mandate covers individual chats and the sharing of files such as images, videos, or voice notes during the first year. The scope will gradually broaden to include group conversations and calls.
Before third-party services can integrate with Messenger and WhatsApp, Meta will require them to enter into an agreement. While Meta prefers these providers to adopt WhatsApp’s Signal encryption protocol, it is open to other protocols that meet equivalent security standards.
Meta assures that E2EE communication will remain secure in transit, regardless of whether third-party services utilize the Signal protocol or not. Nevertheless, Meta has expressed that it cannot vouch for the security practices of third-party applications at the endpoints of communication between WhatsApp and Messenger users.
