Google and some leading network operators in Europe have called on the EU Commission to designate iMessage, Apple’s instant messaging service, as a core service so that the provider must make the chat app compatible with competitors. This is loud Financial Times from a letter to the EU Commission which was jointly signed by a senior vice president of Google and managing directors of Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica and Orange.
The iMessage service can only be used without restrictions on Apple products with iOS, iPadOS and MacOS. When Android smartphone users join an iMessage chat group, all messages change color as if SMS is being used. For Android users, the quality of videos and photos is also worse.
The EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) describes companies as gatekeepers that have undue market power because of their financial size and the number of their users. At the request of the Financial Times, Apple referred to an earlier statement, according to iMessage “does not fall within the scope of the DMA”.
iMessage worldwide with up to 1 billion users
Companies or their products are considered gatekeepers if they have generated at least 7.5 billion euros in sales in the EU in the past three years or have achieved a market capitalization of more than 75 billion euros. They must also have at least 45 million users and be active in at least three EU member states.
According to the Financial Times, experts estimate that iMessage has up to 1 billion users worldwide, and Apple told the EU Commission that it has more than 10,000 business users globally. The authors of the letter explain that Apple meets the law’s qualitative thresholds. The iPhone manufacturer should therefore be included in the rules “benefit European consumers and businesses” would.