Google and some of Europe’s largest telecoms operators have called on the European Union (EU) to designate iMessage as a “core” service that would require Apple open its iMessage service to Android.
Javier Espinoza for Financial Times:
The European Commission, the EU’s executive body, is investigating whether iMessage should be on a list of services that must comply with the new Digital Markets Act, and so be able to connect seamlessly with competitors such as WhatsApp.
Currently, only Apple users are able to communicate via iMessage, making its signature “blue bubble” texts a key factor in retaining iPhone owners’ loyalty, especially among younger consumers. When customers using smartphones running Google’s Android software join an iMessage chat group all the messages change colour, indicating it has defaulted to standard SMS.
Android users also lose some functionality, such as the quality of videos and photos.
Apple declined to comment but pointed to an earlier statement that said: “iMessage is a great service that Apple users love because it provides an easy way to communicate with friends and family while offering industry-leading privacy and security protections. 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. iMessage is designed and marketed for personal consumer communications, and we look forward to explaining to the commission why iMessage is outside the scope of the DMA.”
The commission declined to comment on the letter but said the investigation into iMessage was ongoing. The commission has until February to come to a decision.
MacDailyNews Take: In related news, Pepsi is petitioning the EU to force Coca-Cola to share its cola recipe on account of “it’s only ‘fair.’”
The “core” service of text messaging is SMS.
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