Apple allegedly arguing iMessage isn't big enough to be EU gatekeeper service
With just days to go before the European Union's Digital Markets Act designates gatekeepers, Apple is allegedly arguing iMessage isn't popular enough to be classified as a gatekeeper service.
tbf, Apple‘s iMessage dominance is mostly a US based phenomenon. In European countries, many people use WhatsApp and telegram. Anecdotal evidence: I don’t know anybody using iMessage.
People in each country used whatever everyone else is using. In the US that became text/iMessage. This was partially driven by the way cell companies charged in the US with free texts but limits on data (iMessage uses data, but it came later).
In other countries the better at the time options won out. We talk to our friends in Europe and Africa with WhatsApp.
That’s not quite what I see in France. Many people use Whatsapp to text friends/family when they’re abroad. But everyday, I mostly see classic SMS texts (or iMessage)
They're not wrong. Barely anyone uses iMessage.
*outside of the US
If Apple's iMessage does fall under the DMA ruleset, it means Apple will be required to open iMessage to third-party operators.
What does this look like in practice?
It could mean they make iMessage compatible with RCS for fucking once. Which would actually be a good thing for all Apple users.
They turn off iMessage in Europe. Or have argue it’s ability to fall back to SMS meets this. Or the industry invents a protocol that they all use and iMessage gets a new colored bubble.
What does this look like in practice?
An endless sea of spam that Apple is legally required to deliver.
Fuck apple, give them hell
Why are you getting downvoted wtf is wrong with lemmy? Apple is literally the largest shittiest company in the world.