they don't even have a majority market share (less than 30% globally, in fact) This is a spurious argument. The article wrote: <<They control more than 50% of

they don't even have a majority market share (less than 30% globally, in fact) This is a spurious argument. The article wrote: <<They control more than 50% of the US smartphone market>> It only mentions US market. Even if it was 40% (less than half), most highly advanced nations with strong competition regulation would consider this sufficient for strong regulation. And, regarding market share from the perspective of competition regulation: Who cares about global. It's all about local (state/nation level). The reason why WhatsApp does not face any regulatory scrutiny in any highly developed countries with strong competition regulation: It is free on all platforms, including the desktop web browser. Time and time again, we have seen that free and non-free products and services are treated differently by competition regulators. For example: "Free" mobile games that are stuffed with adverts and use deceptive advertising techniques to attract more downloads.