With the bill still in parliament, it would force companies with messaging apps like Apple (iMessage) and Meta (WhatsApp, Messanger) to have a direct medium, that’d let users of both the different apps communicate seamlessly. Google’s RCS might be the solution if this happens.
Interoperable Messaging Platform
So far, popular messaging platforms like iMessage, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal have only allowed people to communicate only if both are using the same platform. But, Meta last year made an interesting step of interoperability, by letting chats of Instagram and Facebook Messenger be shown and used together. Now, the European Union wants to expand such a thing to all the available messengers, by forcing them to use an interoperable platform. As per reports, the EU lawmakers basing the tweaked Digital Markets Act want to force top tech companies to have their messengers use a common medium for exchanging communication. And this may include Apple’s iMessage, Facebook’s Messenger, Meta’s WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, and all other companies that have at least 45 million monthly active users or 10,000 annually active corporate users in Europe, as per the DMA law. This law has already been impacting Apple’s Appstore, and now targets the messaging system. Adding all messengers to one stream will let users of any platform cross communicate easily. Hoping that this would provide them with more options, the EU lawmakers said, Further, the law also asks tech companies to obtain explicit consent from their users to collect personal data for advertising, their web browser choice, virtual assistant, and the search engine they wish. All this may concern Apple more than others since it restricts most of these in iOS.
