As private messaging platforms keep posing threats to information integrity and access to reliable information, the Forum on Information and Democracy and its partners are releasing the results of a dedicated workstream led by Ukraine and Luxembourg. The report was elaborated with the support of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights and calls upon governments to regulate features rather than platform categories and to clearly define private and public communications.
Co-chaired by the governments of Ukraine and Luxembourg, the Workstream on strengthening information integrity on private messaging platforms was launched in February 2025. The results of this year-long process were released on March 10th during an online webinar addressed to regulators, policy makers, the research community and civil society.
“While increasingly used to spread disinformation and propaganda, private messaging platforms are a blind spot of current regulatory tools and discussion. Their dual nature of private and public space poses complex problems to solve notably when it comes to preserving the right to encryption. We are grateful to the governments of Ukraine, Luxembourg and our knowledge partner the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights for leading us to striking this balance,” explains Camille Grenier, executive director of the Forum on Information and Democracy
Facilitated by FID, the workstream brought together 80 policy makers, civil society experts and researchers from 30 countries over the last few months to discuss the challenges posed by private messaging platforms such as Whatsapp and Telegram. The discussions also built on an international questionnaire addressed to the 57 governments of the Partnership for Information and Democracy.
The discussions underlined the evolving and mixed nature of these platforms, being at the same time spaces for secure private communication while also acting as broadcasting and mass dissemination tools. Their encrypted features combined with their large scale reach pose distinct challenges.
The need for a new approach
As online platforms have traditionally been regulated by platform category, private messaging platforms have either been exempted or application of obligations has been inconsistent and unclear. The report calls for a new approach: regulating platform features and clearly defining public and private communications to take into account the hybrid characteristics of private messaging platforms. This approach enables dealing with coordinated disinformation campaigns on broadcasting features while safeguarding private and encrypted communications.
“This report underscores that no single solution will suffice. While regulatory frameworks must evolve to address the hybrid public-private nature of these platforms, the long-term protection of our information ecosystems hinges on media literacy and societal resilience. We urge all 57 countries of the Partnership for Information and Democracy to carefully study these findings, ” explain Luxembourg and Ukraine.
This new approach includes:
- Regulating platform features rather than platform categories reflecting the hybrid nature of private messaging platforms.
- Clarifying definitions of “public” and “private” to adapt regulatory obligations and ensure that encryption applies to spaces for which users’ have a legitimate expectation of privacy.
- Protecting encryption in private communication and avoiding any obligations that render encryption legally or technically unworkable.
- Investing in societal resilience and international cooperation through sustained media literacy, sharing of best practices and development of international standards.
The European Commission’s designation of WhatsApp Channels as a VLOP is a first step in this direction. Further regulatory clarifications, regulatory tools and media literacy strategies are needed to protect information integrity on private messaging platforms.
