Google and a group of major European telecommunication firms reportedly sent a letter to the European Commission, arguing that iMessage should be regulated as a core service under the European Union's new Digital Markets Act (DMA).
Being recognized as a "core platform service" might be pivotal for iMessage, as it could put pressure on Apple to open up the platform so that it can work with rival messaging apps.
The letter, obtained by The Financial Times, falls in line with an investigation by the European Commission on whether or not iMessage satisfies the criteria for regulation under the bloc's stringent DMA. A verdict is anticipated by February of the following year.
Call to Embrace RCS
With its #GetTheMessage campaign, Google has made it clear that it wants Apple to embrace RCS, the cross-platform communications standard it sees as the successor of SMS.
Last year, Google Vice President Hiroshi Lockheimer said on X (formerly Twitter) that Apple's iMessage lock-in is a documented strategy. "Using peer pressure and bullying as a way to sell products is disingenuous for a company that has humanity and equity as a core part of its marketing. The standards exist today to fix this," he said.
Apple's Messages app already has the ability to transmit SMS texts to other platforms. However, only Apple devices can use iMessage's additional features like encryption and higher-quality pictures and videos. Those who use Apple's iMessage see blue bubbles with plenty of extra options, while everyone else sees green, as reported by the Verge.
The Financial Times reports that a senior vice president at Google, together with the CEOs of Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica, and Orange, sent a letter arguing that Apple's iMessage should be considered a core platform service under the DMA. In particular, it must have at least 10,000 active business users in the EU each month and be run by a corporation with annual sales of over €7.5 billion.
Because the DMA recognizes gatekeepers and their core platform services as a vital link between companies and consumers, the DMA's emphasis on business users is not surprising.
"Through iMessage, business users are only able to send enriched messages to iOS users and must rely on traditional SMS for all the other end users," the letter to internal market commissioner Thierry Breton allegedly states. It is "without doubt justification for Apple's designation as a gatekeeper for its iMessage service," the letter says since iMessage is such a crucial conduit between companies and their consumers.
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Apple's Comment
A statement from Apple sent to the Verge said that it is looking forward to explaining to the commission why iMessage falls outside the DMA's jurisdiction since it is intended for private customer interactions.
Apple has allegedly claimed in the past that iMessage is not widely used enough in the EU to qualify as a key platform service and that it lacks sufficient capabilities that are useful to businesses, such as application programming interfaces (API).
