The companies are also prohibited from offering more favorable services to competitors.
Apple Inc’s iMessage and Microsoft Corp’s Bing search engine won exemptions from new European Union technology rules after the companies convinced antitrust regulators that their services were not gateways for businesses to reach end users.
The EU’s Digital Markets Act will take effect in three weeks, requiring Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet’s Google, Amazon, Meta Platforms and ByteDance to allow third-party apps or app stores onto their platforms, making it easier for people to switch to competition. opponent.
The companies are also prohibited from offering more favorable services to competitors.
After a five-month investigation, the European Commission found that iMessage, Bing, Edge and Microsoft Ads “do not qualify as gatekeeper services,” the EU executive said in a statement.
Apple’s App Store, iOS operating system and Safari browser will continue to be classified as gatekeepers, as will Microsoft’s Linkedin social network and Windows operating system, the committee said.
The commission said it “undertaken a thorough assessment of all arguments and considered the views of relevant stakeholders” but did not provide details of the companies’ arguments.
Apple has said iMessage usage even on its devices is negligible compared with rival messaging services in the EU and that iMessage is not an important channel for businesses to reach EU users.
“Today’s consumers have access to a wide variety of messaging apps and often use multiple apps at the same time, reflecting how easy it is to switch between them,” an Apple spokesperson said.
Microsoft said that Bing, Edge and Microsoft Advertising are challengers in the market and are relatively small, which means they are not important portals for enterprise users.
A Microsoft spokesperson said: “We will continue to work with the committee and the industry to ensure that Microsoft’s other designated platforms are fully compliant with the DMA.”
The Coalition for an Open Digital Ecosystem (CODE), whose members include Google, Meta Platforms and Qualcomm, criticized the committee’s decision.
“Today’s surprising decision undermines the aims of the DMA and its potential to improve choice and competitiveness for all Europeans,” it said in a statement.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
