The European Union has been assessing whether Microsoft Corporation’s MSFT Bing and Apple Inc.’s AAPL iMessage should be subjected to new tech regulations under the Digital Markets Act. The union has reportedly started seeking input from users and competitors in their investigation.
What Happened: To gather crucial data, the EU has sent questionnaires to business rivals and users, aiming to gauge the significance of Bing, iMessage, and related services compared to alternatives.
The questionnaire also delves into how these services fit within their respective ecosystems and user base size, reported Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter.
The development comes after Microsoft and Apple reportedly objected to the classification of Bing and iMessage as fundamental platform services under the DMA.
While Microsoft contended that Bing’s modest 3% market share would put it at a disadvantage under further legal scrutiny, Apple argued that iMessage falls short of DMA’s user threshold of 45 million monthly users.
Notably, in the case of iMessage, the investigators are assessing the importance of “blue bubbles” in the messaging service compared to competing messaging platforms, reported 9To5Mac, citing people in the know.
The tight timeframe for responses – less than a week – underscores the urgency of the investigation. The EU intends to conclude its inquiry within five months, the report noted.
Why It’s Important: The DMA is part of the EU’s broader effort to rein in tech giants.
Last month, the EU initiated inquiries to evaluate whether Microsoft’s Bing, Edge, and Advertising, and Apple’s iMessage should fall under the jurisdiction of the DMA.
Meanwhile, the Digital Services Act, which focuses on user data handling and content moderation, took effect for large online platforms in August earlier this year.
Photo Courtesy: Koshiro K On Shutterstock.com
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