Google sent a letter to European regulators asking them to free up Apple’s iMessage for all platforms, according to a report from the Financial Times Wednesday. The EU Commission said Apple is gatekeeping iMessage in September, and Google’s letter unnecessarily chimes in to say “we agree.”
European regulators are currently investigating whether Apple should be required to comply with the Digital Markets Act, which would force iMessage to be seamlessly compatible with all messaging platforms, such as Android and WhatsApp. A Google senior vice president and other telecom executives claim that Apple’s services meet the thresholds of the act, and should be regulated to “benefit European consumers and businesses,” in a letter seen by Financial Times reporters.
Apple’s iconic blue text bubbles over iMessage are a key factor in retaining customer loyalty. In 2019, Samsung launched an anti-bullying campaign of GIFs to combat kids who were bullied over their green text bubbles.
The Digital Markets Act defines gatekeepers as “large online platforms that provide an important gateway between business users and consumers, whose position can grant them the power to create a bottleneck in the digital economy.” Google’s letter says that’s the “fundamental nature” of iMessage.
While Google chimed in on Apple’s anticompetitive practices, it’s also under the regulators’ magnifying glass. The Digital Markets Act designates Google Play, Google Maps, Chrome and more services as gatekeepers as well. The search giant also faces its own platter of antitrust lawsuits here in the US.
Google, Apple, and the EU Commission did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment.
Apple has previously stated, however, that iMessage does not constitute an important gateway “due to its small scale relative to other messaging services.” The number of iMessage users was estimated to be 1.3 billion in 2022, whereas WhatsApp had 2.4 billion users in the same year.
“Consumers today have access to a wide variety of messaging apps, and often use many at once, which reflects how easy it is to switch between them,” said Apple in the same statement. “Consumers today have access to a wide variety of messaging apps, and often use many at once, which reflects how easy it is to switch between them.”
The commission has until February to reach a decision on the matter.
