Apple and Microsoft are arguing with the European Commission that their services, iMessage and Bing, should not be designated as gatekeepers under the EU’s Digital Markets Act.
Apple and Microsoft are arguing with the European Commission that their services, iMessage and Bing, should not be designated as gatekeepers under the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). The DMA is a new piece of legislation that is designed to curb the power of tech giants.
Apple argues that iMessage does not meet the threshold of user numbers at which the rules apply and therefore should not comply with obligations that include opening the service to rival apps such as Meta’s WhatsApp. Analysts have estimated that iMessage has as many as 1 billion users globally, but Apple has not disclosed any figures for several years.
Microsoft argues that Bing has a market share of just 3% and further legal scrutiny would put it at a greater disadvantage. If covered by the new rules, Bing would need to give users a choice of other search engines, including Google’s. Advisers have argued in Microsoft’s defence that this could end up boosting Google’s market share.
The European Commission is still deliberating over the inclusion of iMessage and Bing in the final list of gatekeepers. The commission may open a probe to determine if these services should face the new obligations set out in the Digital Markets Act.
The designation of the services is part of a long-running process of implementing the landmark rules, which become fully applicable next spring. The commission is already bracing itself for legal challenges before the EU courts in Luxembourg over its decisions.
The Digital Markets Act is a complex piece of legislation, and there is still a lot of uncertainty about how it will be implemented. However, it is clear that the European Commission is determined to curb the power of tech giants, and this could have a significant impact on the way these companies operate in Europe.