EU antitrust regulators have asked Apple's users and rivals to rate the importance of Apple's iMessage and Microsoft's Bing versus competing services, reports Reuters. According to people familiar with the matter, the European Commission sent out the questionnaires earlier this month, asking if there was anything specific to iMessage and Microsoft's Bing, Edge, and Microsoft Advertising that business users rely on and how they fit into the companies' ecosystems. The survey also asked for the number of users making use of the services. The survey comes after Apple and Microsoft contested the EU regulator labeling them as "gatekeepers" ahead of the publication of the first list of services to be regulated by the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Apple last month…

If you’re trying to call someone and have a missed connection, you have many more options for leaving them a message to pick up later. Changes to iMessage bring small but impactful improvements to stickers, threaded replies and sharing your ETA. (via Cult of Mac - Tech and culture through an Apple lens)

Apple says that their iMessage service is insufficiently popular to be designated as a “gatekeeper” under the EU’s new Digital Markets Act (DMA). Microsoft has also taken the same tack with its Bing search engine. Apple’s Messages icon Javier Espinoza for Financial Times: Brussels’ battle with the two US companies over Apple’s iMessage chat app and Microsoft’s Bing search engine comes ahead of Wednesday’s publication of the first list of services to be regulated by the Digital Markets Act. The legislation imposes new responsibilities on tech companies, including sharing data, linking to competitors and making their services interoperable with rival apps. Platforms with an annual turnover of more than €7.5bn, a market cap above €75bn and active monthly users in…

Apple argues that iMessage is not sufficiently popular to be classified as a "gatekeeper" under EU law, the Financial Times reports. The discussion comes ahead of the publication of the first list of services to be regulated by the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The legislation introduces new rules that apply to tech giants that meet its "gatekeeper" criteria and force them to open up their various services and platforms to other companies and developers. For example, Apple could be forced to allow third-party companies and rival apps like Meta's WhatsApp to integrate directly with iMessage. In recent correspondence with the European Commission, Apple argued that iMessage does not meet the number of users at which the DMA's rules apply, and…

Apple and other tech companies oppose a change to a UK law because it would substantially weaken the security of messaging apps. (via Cult of Mac - Tech and culture through an Apple lens)

Apple says it would pull services such as iMessage and FaceTime from the UK rather than obliterate customers’ security and privacy if new proposals to destroy end-to-end encryption are made law and acted upon as the government fumbles toward updating its so-called Investigatory Powers Act (IPA) 2016. The UK government wants messaging services to seek approval for security features before releasing them to customers. The act lets the UK government demand that security features such as end-to-end encryption be disabled immediately upon request, without telling end users. Zoe Kleinman for BBC News: Many messaging services currently offer end-to-end encryption – so messages can be unscrambled by only the devices sending and receiving them. WhatsApp and Signal are among the platforms…