Overview

• Google and several European telecom companies are urging regulators to classify Apple's iMessage as a 'core platform service' under the EU's Digital Markets Act. This would necessitate Apple to make iMessage compatible with other phones and messaging platforms.
• If iMessage is designated as a 'core platform service', Apple would have to make the service interoperable with other phone systems like Google's Android. This change could eliminate the differentiation of iPhone and non-iPhone users through 'green text bubbles'.
• The DMA identifies gatekeepers as large online platforms that provide crucial links between businesses and consumers, whose status can create a bottleneck in the digital economy. Google and the telecom companies argue that iMessage meets this criterion as it serves as an important gateway between business users and their customers.
• A group of Google, Orange, Vodafone, Telefonica, and Deutsche Telekom executives have written to the European Commission, arguing for the designation of iMessage as a core platform service. They contend that enriched messaging is currently only available to Apple users, highlighting the need for interoperability.
• Apple has contested the argument, saying that 'iMessage is designed and marketed for personal consumer communications'. The company claims that consumers have access to a variety of messaging apps and can easily switch between them, implying that its service is not crucial to the digital market as claimed.
• The European Commission is currently investigating the matter and is set to decide on whether Apple’s iMessage qualifies as a gatekeeper by February 2024. If iMessage is classified as such, it could be subject to interoperability rules, compelling Apple to make the service compatible with other platforms.