Apple defends iMessage, says users can switch between IM apps

Robert Triggs / Android Regulator

TL;DR

The European Commission has opened an investigation into Apple’s iMessage to determine if it qualifies as a “gatekeeper platform” when it meets defined thresholds.
Apple’s public statement defending iMessage, saying users use multiple messaging apps at once, shows how easy it is to switch between them.
The European Commission will announce its decision on the investigation by February 2024.

The European Commission’s upcoming Digital Markets Act (DMA) will dramatically change the way Big Tech operates in the EU. The act designates certain companies and their proprietary products as “gatekeeper platforms,” forcing them to open up and play nice with smaller competitors. Apple’s iMessage has yet to make the list, but the Commission plans to investigate further if it does.

Earlier today, the European Commission released a list of gatekeeper platforms, including six major tech companies and the major products/platforms they create:

Alphabet: Android, Chrome, Google Ads, Google Maps, Google Play, Google Search, Google Shopping, YouTube
Amazon: Amazon Ads, Amazon Marketplace
Apple: App Store, iOS, Safari
Bytedance: TikTok
Meta: Facebook, Instagram, Meta Ads, Meta Marketplace, WhatsApp
Microsoft: LinkedIn, Windows

The companies mentioned above have six months to comply with the DMA, which is until March 2024. These platforms will need to enable interoperability with competitors. Furthermore, they could not have treated other services from the parent company more favorably than third-party solutions.

In parallel, the Commission opened a market investigation into Microsoft’s Bing, Edge, Microsoft Ads and Apple’s iMessage products.

The Commission will primarily assess whether these products qualify as gateways despite meeting the required thresholds. We can expect a decision on these investigations in February 2024, with the compliance deadline for these possible designations set for August 2024.

European Commission Digital Markets Act timeline

In opening its market investigation into iMessage, Apple released the following statement:

iMessage is a great service loved by Apple users because it provides an easy way to stay in touch with friends and family while providing industry-leading security and privacy protections. Consumers today have access to many different messaging apps and often use multiple apps at once, which reflects how easy it is to switch between them. iMessage is designed and marketed for individual consumer communications, and we look forward to explaining to the committee why iMessage is outside the scope of the DMA.

Apple’s statement focuses on the existing competitors present in the Instant Messaging space and the number of consumers using these multiple IM apps at the same time. This shows how easy it is to switch between them.

However, one could argue that people use multiple messaging apps because their social circles cannot use them interactively. Some people are on one platform, while others are on the second, etc. Platforms don’t want to play nice with each other.

Consumers’ ability to switch between multiple messaging apps stems from the need to be active on all of them to access their entire social circle. No app can access a user’s full social circle thanks to the walled gardens on these messaging services.

Which application or client a person uses won’t be an issue if there is interoperability on the basic messaging service. If all clients supported RCS messaging then we wouldn’t be in this situation because basically it doesn’t matter which app to use as you can send rich messages to anyone with a number phone.

The commission also opened an investigation into iPadOS, although acknowledging that it did not meet the threshold. iOS has been designated as the gatekeeper platform.

Failure to comply with the DMA will result in a penalty of up to 10% of the company’s total worldwide revenue, up to 20% in the case of multiple violations. Other remedies also apply to systematic violations, such as forcing a janitor to sell a business.

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