Apple and Microsoft side by side against the EU’s new regulation

Microsoft and Apple are pushing to keep Bing and iMessage, respectively, off the regulatory list of new European regulators. According to reports, both companies privately argue that their services are not large or powerful enough to fall within the restrictions of the Digital Markets Act.

Apple and Microsoft are disturbed

On September 6, the European Commission will announce the list of the Digital Markets Act, which includes both general companies and the specific services they offer. These powerful platforms, defined by their revenue and user numbers, will need to meet a set of interoperability and competition rules. Apple and Microsoft were already known to be on the list – along with Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, ByteDance and Samsung – but the commission will need to determine which parts of these companies should be included in the law. Once the EU makes the necessary determination, companies will have six months or until March 2024 to comply with the rules.

Reportedly, Microsoft won’t have “much objection” to Windows being listed, but it argues that Bing’s relatively small share of the search market (compared to its much more popular rival Google) could be further diminished if it does things like offer users access to rival search engines.

Similarly, Apple is reportedly working to open iOS to third-party app stores and sideloading to comply with the expected rules. However, Apple, like Microsoft, argues that iMessage does not meet the Digital Markets Act’s threshold of 45 million monthly active users and therefore should not have to work with other messaging services. Meanwhile, although Apple hasn’t released official figures, outside estimates suggest iMessage could have a billion users worldwide.

The Digital Markets Act is part of a set of EU laws designed to limit the power of technology companies. As it is known, the Digital Services Act, which focuses on how platforms handle user data and moderation, came into force late last month. With these laws, the EU wants to handle user data and competition more “correctly”.