Apple Inc.’s iMessage service is likely to be exempted from the new antimonopoly rules imposed by the European Union (EU) to restrict the activities of large tech platforms, according to sources familiar with the situation. European regulators are leaning towards this decision after a five-month investigation, which is set to conclude in February.
The service would need to be recognized as an “important gateway” for business users in order to fall under the rules. However, EU authorities argue that iMessage does not meet these criteria.
If iMessage were included in the targeted services list of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Apple would be required to integrate the service with competing online messengers like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger from META Platforms Inc. However, Apple has objected to this obligation.
Under the DMA guidelines, large companies are prohibited from favoring their own services over competitors’. They cannot combine personal data through different services, use data from third-party sellers to compete against them, and must allow users to download applications from rival platforms.
In September, the EU published a list of 22 key services that would be subject to these rules, including Alphabet Inc.’s Google search engine, Amazon.com Inc.’s market, and Meta’s Facebook.
For Apple, this means that their App Store, Safari browser, and iOS mobile operating system would also fall under these regulations.
In addition to the initial list, the EU has initiated an investigation to determine if iMessage from Apple, as well as Microsoft Corp.’s Bing, Edge, and Advertising services, should also be subject to these rules.
In the meantime, Apple, Meta, and TikTok’s owner Bytedance Ltd. have filed requests with EU courts to assess whether some of their services should be included in the DMA as it impacts their most profitable business models.
The DMA will come into full effect in early March.