EU Asks Users And Competitors' Opinions Regarding Compliance With Bing And IMessage Against New Technology Rules

JAKARTA - EU Antitrust Regulators are seeking the opinion of Microsoft users and competitors whether Bing should comply with new strict technology regulations. In addition, whether the same should apply to Apple's iMessage. This is known from a source familiar with the matter on Monday, October 9.

In September, the European Commission opened an investigation to assess whether Apple's Digital Markets Act (DMA), Edge, and Microsoft Advertising and iMessage should comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

The investigation was carried out after the two companies protested against EU competition regulators calling this service a core platform service under DMA.

DMA requires Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet's Google, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and ByteDance to enable third-party apps or app stores on their platforms and make it easier for users to switch from default to competitors, among other obligations.

The Commission sent a questionnaire earlier this month, asking competitors and users to assess the extent of the importance of Apple's three Microsoft and iMessage services compared to competing services.

Those familiar with the matter said the EU supervisory agency also asked if there was anything special about the service business users rely on and how the service works in the company's ecosystem.

They also asked for the number of users using the service. The response was given less than a week to provide feedback. The Commission wants to complete its investigation within five months.