Major European Carriers Join Google in Urging EU to Recognize iMessage as Essential Platform Service

Google Joins Forces with Major European Carriers to Advocate for iMessage as a Core Platform Service

A group composed of Google, Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica, and Orange has submitted a joint letter to the European Commission urging the designation of Apple's iMessage as a "core platform service". This move would require Apple to make iMessage compatible with RCS, aligning it with popular messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Google Messages. The deadline for these changes to take effect is set for March 2024.

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The European Union recently introduced the Digital Markets Act (DMA) to promote fair competition within the EU digital market by regulating the influence of large companies. According to the regulation, companies that qualify as "gatekeepers" must have over 45 million active users in the EU and annual revenue exceeding €7.5 billion. Apple's iMessage, if classified as a gatekeeper platform, would be obligated to establish compatibility with other messaging apps by March 2024. Apple, however, contests that iMessage falls short of the 45 million active users threshold in the EU, thus questioning the applicability of the requirement.

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The European Commission is expected to make a decision by February 2024. If iMessage is officially recognized as a core service, Apple would need to address the longstanding issue of compatibility between iMessage (represented by blue bubbles) and other messaging platforms (represented by green bubbles) within the EU.

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