Both Microsoft and Apple want the EU to delist some of their activities gatekeeper. This is a collection of big technology names that fall under a special section of the European Digital Markets Act.

Normally tomorrow, the European Commission will make a final decision on who will be the first gatekeepers in the Digital Markets Act. These are big names in the technology industry and they must follow certain additional rules. There are also a number of factors associated with it. Both Apple and Microsoft are now using just that to convince Europe that not all of their operations deserve the stricter gatekeeper label, the Financial Times reports.

Calimero Defense

In particular, each of the two tech giants would like to see one of their products/services removed from the gatekeeper list. For Apple, that’s iMessage, and Microsoft doesn’t think Bing belongs there. The argument in both cases boils down to the fact that they are simply not big enough to be considered gatekeepers.

Microsoft believes its search engine is a no-brainer compared to the massive Google search, and that Bing’s market share is simply too small for the particularly strict rules that gatekeepers must adhere to. Bing would now have a market share of three percent and the new rules would have a negative impact on growth and competitiveness. These rules stipulate that gatekeepers must also grant users access to precisely this competition, which in the case of Bing is in fact Google.

Apple cites WhatsApp as a comparison to show that iMessage is not such a big player. However, the function is standard on every iPhone. The company hasn’t released usage figures for iMessage yet.

Open to interpretation

Gatekeepers have to process 100,000 business users annually and 45 million users monthly within the EU. In addition, they must have an annual turnover of at least 7.5 billion euros or ten times the market value.

With last-minute debates as to whether the two services are in fact not a gatekeeper or whether they are, it will largely depend on how Europe sees the way both companies operate. If Bing and iMessage are viewed as separate entities, there is hope for Microsoft and Apple.