Google argues iMessage should be regulated by the EU’s Digital Markets Act

Google is hoping regulators will bail it out of the messaging mess it has created for itself after years of dysfunctional product reboots. The Financial Times reports that Google and a few cell carriers are asking the EU to designate Apple's iMessage as a core" service that would require it to be interoperable under the new Digital Markets Act." The EU's Digital Markets Act targets Big Tech gatekeepers" with various interoperability, fairness, and privacy demands, and while iMessage didn't make the initial cut of services announced in September, Apple's messenger is under a market investigation" to determine if it should qualify.

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The criteria for gatekeeper services all revolve around business usage. The services the EU wants to include would have more than 45 million monthly active EU users and more than 10,000 yearly active business in the EU, a business turnover of at least 7.5 billion euros, or a market cap of 75 billion euros, with the caveat that these are just guidelines and the EU is open to arguments in both directions. When the initial list was announced back in September, the EU said that iMessage actually met the thresholds for regulation, but it was left off the list while it listens to Apple's arguments that it should not qualify.

The sooner the various messaging services are forced to interoperate - preferably via completely open specifications anyone can build for - the better. These services should not be locking users in.