New EU Tech Rules May Apply to Apple & Microsoft
Antitrust regulators of the European Union are exploring whether or not the Digital Markets Act (DMA) should apply to Microsoft’s Bing, Microsoft Advertising, and Apple’s iMessage by asking users and competitors.
Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet’s Google, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and ByteDance are required by DMA to permit third-party apps or app stores on their platforms and to let users easily jump from default apps to competitors.
The European Commission launched the investigation in September after companies challenged the EU competition regulator, identifying these services as core platform services under the DMA.
To uncover more insights, the Commission dispatched questionnaires to competitors and users to rank the significance of Microsoft’s three services and Apple’s iMessage against competing services.
According to Reuters, sources with knowledge surrounding the probe said the EU watchdog probed for details surrounding services, how business users depend on them, and how they work within the company’s structure.
The Commission also asked for the total number of users utilising the services.
The turnaround time for respondents was less than a week because the Commission wants to conclude its inquiry within five months.