Should Apple’s blue bubbles be subject to the European Union’s recent Digital Market Act? That’s something the European Commission is investigating, according to people in the know.
Reuters says that EU antitrust regulators are currently probing Apple and Microsoft over iMessage, Bing, Edge, and Microsoft Advertising and whether or not these services must comply with the new DMA regulation.
The investigation was opened in September after Apple and Microsoft “contested the EU competition regulator labelling these services as core platform services under the DMA.”
According to the report, investigators are determining the importance of iMessage versus competing messaging services for Apple. Antitrust regulators are determining the size of Apple’s iMessage user base, if business users rely on iMessage for anything specifically, and how iMessage fits into Apple’s overall business.
Reuters says that the European Commission hopes to conclude its assessment “within five months” which could mean a determination in January or February.
If Apple was forced to make iMessage comply with the Digital Markets Act, the messaging service could be subject to new rules for serving EU users.
More
- Third-party app stores: Apple’s March 5 deadline (in theory …)
- Digital Markets Act antitrust law includes Apple’s App Store
- Report: Apple claims iMessage not big enough to fall under purview of EU ‘gatekeeper’ competition law
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