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Google along with some of Europe’s leading telecoms operators is urging Brussels to classify iMessage as a “core” service, which would compel Apple to ensure full compatibility with competing chat apps.
The European Commission is currently investigating whether iMessage should be included on the list of mandatory services under the new Digital Markets Act, allowing seamless connectivity with rivals like WhatsApp.
As of now, only Apple users can utilize iMessage, making the distinctive “blue bubble” texts a crucial factor in retaining iPhone users’ loyalty, especially among younger demographics. When Android users join an iMessage chat group, all the messages switch to standard SMS, with a loss of some features.
Rivals have long sought to break iMessage’s exclusivity to Apple’s hardware in the hopes of enticing customers to switch to their devices. In a letter to the commission, signatories including a Google senior vice-president and the CEOs of Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica, and Orange argued that Apple’s service meets the qualitative thresholds of the act and should be subject to the rules to benefit European consumers and businesses.
The call for inclusion under the new rules comes as tech companies with annual revenues exceeding €7.5bn and at least 10,000 active monthly business users in the EU fall under the Digital Markets Act regulations, although the designation is at the discretion of regulators outside of these metrics. Experts estimate that iMessage has up to 1bn users globally, and Apple has admitted to having more than 10,000 business users around the world.
Despite Apple’s argument that iMessage should not be covered by the new rules because users do not pay directly for its use and its devices can be used without the messaging app, the commission believes iMessage indirectly contributes to Apple’s revenues and is an important element of the expansion of Apple’s ecosystem.
In their letter to the EU’s internal market commissioner, the telecoms companies and Google contended that the fundamental nature of iMessage as “an important gateway between business users and their customers is without doubt justification for Apple’s designation as a gatekeeper for its iMessage service.”
They emphasized that consumers would benefit from the designation because “enriched messaging” is currently only available between Apple users and that businesses should be able to reach all their customers using modern communication services. Apple has declined to comment while the commission confirmed that the investigation into iMessage was ongoing.
The commission has until February to come to a decision on the matter.
