Several telecom operators want the EU to classify Apple’s iMessage as a core service. A request that Google is happy to comply with.

The European Commission has received a letter asking it to consider Apple’s iMessage as a core service. This would mean that Apple, as a gatekeeper under the European Digital Markets Act, would have to make the app available to (smaller) third parties. The document, seen by the Financial Times, was signed by several telecommunications companies and competitor Google.

battle of the titans

iMessage is an Apple exclusive. If you work with a different operating system and still want to use it, you will lose a number of functions and receive a greatly reduced version. The reason for this action is therefore not far to look for; If the EU decides against Apple, this exclusivity would disappear.

The complainants are not among the least in Europe:

• Vodafone
• Deutsche Telekom
• Telefónica
• Orange

A list that Google joins. The company knows the rules for gatekeepers only too well, and Google itself is also a member of this mandatory club.

Expected

The letter to the EU could be a response to Apple’s recent actions. The tech giant has already done the opposite, arguing to the Union that iMessage is too small to be considered a core service.

Apple therefore wants the service not to fall under the rules of a gatekeeper. The European Union has now even launched an investigation. Completion is expected to take place before the beginning of March next year.