As you surely remember, last September the list of six was published porter, with Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp included in it under the N-IICS (messaging services, Christian) section. This means that with the entry into force of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in the European Union, both platforms must take certain measures, among which they must be open to offering interoperability with other services.

Of course, this represents a double whammy for Meta, as we recall that both services belong to it, one as a Facebook attachment and the other as a separate service. However, at this point it is very important to note that for many years Meta kept Facebook Messenger completely separate in its independent application without being able to use it from an application that allows access to the social network. This was reversed in early 2023.

We’ll probably never have official confirmation of the reason that led Meta to make this change a few months ago, but it’s no doubt now that it’s convenient to try to escape the regulation. And as we can read in The Verge, Meta wants the EU to exclude Facebook Messenger from WFD-regulated services, arguing that it is part of Facebook and not an independent service..

Meta is, as we said in September, one of the companies most affected by DMA applications, cwith at least six services included in the list: two social networks (Facebook and Instagram), two instant messaging services (Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp), its marketplace and its advertising platform. So it’s quite understandable that Meta is trying to take some of the pressure off, although given Messenger’s track record I’m doubtful about the outcome of this appeal.

You’re probably wondering why Meta wants the EU to consider Facebook Messenger as part of Facebook when the social network is also on the list. The explanation is, of course, this The regulations to be applied vary depending on the type of service. So if this movement were to continue, Meta would not be forced to force Messenger to offer interoperability with other instant messaging services.

In recent weeks, we have learned quite a few moves from side six porter, trying to avoid as much as possible the rules specified by the DMA, as well as other more striking cases, such as the pressure between them in the opposite direction. So, for example, we recently learned that Google is pushing the EU to include iMessage in the list of instant messaging services (the search engine has actually been trying to get Apple to accept RCS for a long time, sometimes it’s a bit awkward, and we also learned about ” startling” argument from Cupertino in trying to keep Safari from being on the list.