Cullen International's latest Global Trends benchmark for communications apps regulation found diverse regulatory approaches to the legal definition, licensing and interoperability of number-independent communications apps. The benchmark addresses regulation of apps such as WhatsApp, WeChat and iMessage across 13 jurisdictions around the world.

Key findings

• Regulators take several distinct approaches to defining communications apps, from providing an explicit definition in law (Australia, Brazil, China, the EU, Malaysia and Singapore), to folding them into a wider category of services (India, Japan and South Korea), to adopting no statutory definition whatsoever (South Africa, Thailand, the UK and the US).
• The licensing landscape across jurisdictions presents a spectrum ranging from full telecoms licensing (China only) to no licensing requirement (Australia, Brazil, the EU, India, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, the UK and the US).
• On interoperability between apps specifically, the obligation to interconnect applies only in the EU (but to certain designated apps only).

Why it matters

For industry, the picture is largely one of light-touch licensing but fragmented definitions, so compliance obligations depend on how each jurisdiction classifies a service. The EU’s targeted interoperability duty for designated apps therefore points to where regulatory pressure on the largest platforms may head next. 

Background / context

Number-independent communications apps depend on telecoms networks for connectivity but are not generally the providers of the underlying network. They thus have been able to scale without incurring the costs associated with spectrum licences, mobile radio networks, or fixed last-mile infrastructure. This asymmetry has led to debates over regulatory parity between telecoms operators and digital communications platforms.

Scope

Region: Global
Countries covered: Australia, Brazil, China, the EU, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, the UK, and the US
Policy area: Telecoms, Online platforms
Last updated: October 2026

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