Apple and Microsoft have argued with Brussels that some of their services are insufficiently popular to be designated as “gatekeepers” under new landmark EU legislation designed to curb the power of Big Tech.
Brussels’ battle with the two US companies over Apple’s iMessage chat app and Microsoft’s Bing search engine comes ahead of Wednesday’s publication of the first list of services to be regulated by the Digital Markets Act.
Microsoft’s argument seems to make sense.
Microsoft was unlikely to dispute the designation of its Windows operating system, which dominates the PC industry, as a gatekeeper, these people said. But it has argued that Bing has a market share of just 3 per cent and further legal scrutiny would put it at a greater disadvantage.
I guess the validity of Microsoft’s argument hinges on if that 3% equates to the number of users requirements set by the European Union, but I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.
Apple’s argument, though, seems more precarious.
Separately, Apple argued that iMessage did not meet the threshold of user numbers at which the rules applied and therefore should not comply with obligations that include opening the service to rival apps such as Meta’s WhatsApp, said the two people.
Analysts have estimated that iMessage, which is built into every iPhone, iPad and Mac, has as many as 1bn users globally, but Apple has not disclosed any figures for several years. The decision is likely to hinge on how Apple and the EU define the market in which iMessage operates.
One billion users worldwide is most definitely going to mean it exceeds the minimums set by the DSA. Apple, you’re going to have to open up iMessage, and allow competitors and newcomers to interoperate with it. Using messaging services as lock-in is outdated, anti-consumer, and harmful to competition.
And if you don’t like it – as they say on the Isle of Man, a boat leaves in the morning.
Not sure about Microsoft argument either. If Bing was really a separate product, yeah, it would make sense,but Bing is bundled with Windows and Edge. Windows defaults its start menu search field to Bing and opens Edge when you click on a search, and cannot be replaced by another search engine since Microsoft has forbidden this. And when you click on a result, it opens Edge, and not your configured browser. So it is yet another Microsoft product.
Bing is also Edge default search engine, the default browser included with Windows.
Remember this is in the context of the EU. So Microsoft are already obliged to offer a choice of browser due to previous rulings.
Not any more, the period mandated by the EU-Microsoft settlement for Microsoft to show the browser ballot screen has ended.
You are right! I saw the N version and assumed it still had the browser stuff, but it only has the media player/codec stuff removed. To an extent, that also shows my the impact that “choice” had on me!
Uhh except the majority just use edge to download Chrome thanks to Google slamming edge and FireFox users with “You really need to be using Chrome to get the best experience” pop ups and ads whenever someone goes to Google from any other browser.
Honestly Bing is about the least plausible “gatekeeper” there is as other than a few geeks and people with specialized needs (for example if you are needing to find say HVAC or computer parts for specific makes and models? Bing will give you actual results while Google will give you SEO spam) everyone just uses Bing long enough to get to Google and Chrome, hence why the 3%.
If there is anybody that should be busted for Gatekeeping though I’d argue for Google, say what you will about Microsoft but I can trivially just replace Edge with FF, Outlook with Gmail, hell even replace the entire OS with a flavor of Linux if I so choose but I have absolutely NO WAY to “de-Google” my phone. Sure you can use other apps but the Google Shite is already running slurping data anyway. With mobile its 2 completely walled gardens with 0ne choice, you give everything to Apple or you give everything to Google, period.
> If there is anybody that should be busted for Gatekeeping though I’d argue for Google
They are, but since this article was about companies who were objecting to the status, google is naturally not mentioned here.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/technology/amazon-google-apple-meta-microsoft-say-they-meet-eu-gatekeeper-status-2023-07-04/
Big supposedly has a billion users worldwide every month. Therefore it works be caught by this if a billion users is the criteria.
In not sure how iMessage would apply. Hundreds of alternate apps exist.
And! What benefits could there possibly be to any user in forcing proprietary code wide open?
Then again, this is the EU. The same force that just killed waterproofing of phones and is set to create over 10 billion waste cables over 4 years.