WhatsApp continues to overflow when it comes to rolling out more and better features, but the latest one we know of is more likely to be forced by legislative changes being pushed by the European Union as it concerns interoperability with other services.

In addition to the position that each of them takes on the conflict between Epic Games and Apple due to the closed ecosystem of the other, it is no less true that the company responsible for Unreal Engine has brought into the public debate concerns about the level of openness of digital ecosystems. Far from being just a business issue, the issue has gone far enough for the governments of the United States and the European Union to take action on the matter.

Pressure on companies to open up their digital ecosystems, whether through government pressure or legislation, has caused Apple to back away from its position to allow third-party stores and web rendering engines on iOS, and Google is working on improvements. third-party store support.

Coming back to the topic of WhatsApp, the reason for Interoperability with other services is determined by the Digital Markets Act (LMD) of the European Union (EU), which aims to “level the playing field for all digital companies, regardless of size. In order to put an end to unfair practices towards companies and consumers, the Digital Markets Act sets out clear rules on what large internet platforms can and cannot do in the EU.

“Gateway platforms will no longer be able to classify their own services and products more favorably than similar ones offered by third parties on the same site. They will also not be able to prevent users from uninstalling pre-installed programs or apps if they wish to do so. Except, Interoperability between messaging platforms will be improved. Users of small or large platforms will be able to exchange messages, send files or make video calls between these applications“.

The European Union has explicitly announced that seven of the “gatekeepers”, which are Alphabet (formerly the parent company of Google), Amazon, Apple, ByteDance (the owner of TikTok), Meta (formerly the parent company of Facebook), Microsoft and Samsung, must comply with the LMD in community space. In addition, the European Commission has identified key apps subject to the rule, including WhatsApp and Messenger (formerly Facebook Messenger).

If the LMD is implemented as proposed, Meta will be legally required to enable interoperability with other services on WhatsApp from March 2024 (unless it wants to be fined and risk a possible ban). As candidates are its arch-rivals in the sector, Telegram and Signal, focused on encrypted communication and which a few years ago received a large donation from Brian Acton, the co-founder of WhatsApp, who eventually renounced his own creation.

Although LMD has good intentions, it seems to have some holes, for example, iMessage is not yet included in the list of services that must comply with the legislation that will come into force next year. However, Microsoft and Epic Games are already preparing to bring their own stores to iOS as the Apple App Store will be affected.