Summary

The EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) has required WhatsApp since autumn 2025 to open its platform to third parties and enable interoperability with competing messengers. Threema rejects this interoperability and justifies this on data protection, business model, and technical grounds. The Swiss messenger argues that connecting with WhatsApp would lower data protection standards to the lowest level and endangers its decentralized funding model.

People

  • Threema (Messenger provider; Switzerland)

Topics

  • Data protection and encryption
  • Digital market regulation
  • Messenger competition
  • Technical interoperability

Clarus Lead

The DMA interoperability obligation reveals a fundamental tension: While EU regulation aims to break up monopolies and strengthen consumer choice, a privacy-focused provider like Threema fears that interoperability could have the opposite effect – actually cementing the giant's market power. The debate shows that standardized interoperability is not neutral, but rather puts data protection standards and business models of smaller providers under pressure.

Detailed Summary

Threema identifies three central problem areas of WhatsApp interoperability:

Data Protection and Security Degradation: The messenger warns that interoperability cannot bridge fundamental differences in user identification – WhatsApp uses phone numbers, Threema anonymous IDs. When data flows between systems, one must align with the "weakest link"; Threema cannot guarantee how WhatsApp (a proprietary system) processes user data. This inevitably leads to a data protection compromise.

Paradoxical Monopoly Reinforcement: Contrary to the DMA's intent, direct interoperability could increase market concentration: WhatsApp users could reach Threema contacts directly from the WhatsApp app, eliminating the incentive to install a separate app. This would cost Threema and other alternatives users.

Business Model Endangerment: Threema finances itself exclusively through app sales – not through advertising or data exploitation. Fewer downloads mean direct revenue loss and resource shortage for product development. Technically, the situation is complicated by the fact that WhatsApp dictates all protocol standards; third parties would essentially have to integrate a "light version" of Meta into their existing infrastructure. Threema also points out open questions: How should interoperability work in group or video chats? These gaps mean disproportionately high development costs for unclear results.

Key Statements

  • The DMA aims at competition but could sharpen WhatsApp's monopoly rather than weaken it through interoperability
  • Data protection standards cannot be neutrally harmonized; they sink to the lowest level
  • For small privacy-focused providers with a pay model, interoperability existentially endangers the business model

Critical Questions

  1. Evidence: Does Threema empirically prove that interoperability actually leads to fewer app downloads, or are these assumptions? Are there comparable cases (e.g., email interoperability) with data?

  2. Conflict of Interest: To what extent is Threema's position shaped by its own business interest (app sales)? Would a different financing structure change the argument?

  3. Causality: Why is it assumed that users would not abandon WhatsApp even if they could communicate interoperably with Threema? Could other factors (network effects, habit) be more important?

  4. Data Protection Realism: Is the demand for "absolute data protection security" in interoperability realistic, or is a moderate standard (e.g., end-to-end encryption on all platforms) sufficient?

  5. Implementation Costs: Are the described technical hurdles objectively disproportionate, or do they reflect a lack of resources at Threema compared to Meta?

  6. Regulatory Alternative: Should the DMA have included stricter data protection minimum standards for all gatekeepers instead of forcing interoperability?

Bibliography

Primary Source: Messenger Interoperability: Well Intentioned, Bad for Data Protection – Threema Blog, 22 July 2026

Verification status: ✓ 22.07.2026

This text was created with the support of an AI model. Editorial Responsibility: clarus.news | Fact-Check: 22.07.2026