Microsoft and Apple want to dodge EU’s new tech rules for Bing and iMessage

Both companies say their respective services are too small to meet the criteria for being on the "gatekeepers" list.

The EU’s new Digital Markets Act aims to curb the power of Big Tech. (Image: dimitrisvetsikas1969/Pixabay)

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Microsoft and Apple reportedly want Bing and iMessage respectively off the “gatekeepers” list under the new landmark legislation designed to promote fair competition and curb the power of Big Tech. Both tech giants argue that their services aren’t large enough to justify the subjection to the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Signed into law by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union in September 2022 and applicable from May 2, 2023, the DMA targets the largest digital platforms in the EU referred to as the “gatekeepers.” These platforms include online search engines, app stores, and messenger services. In the case of non-compliance, platforms may face sanctions, including fines of up to 10% of their global turnover.

Microsoft and Apple are already on said list, alongside Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, ByteDance, and Samsung. However, the commission is yet to determine which services offered by them should be covered.

According to Financial Times, Microsoft had rejected the idea of being subject to the same rules its rival Google has been placed under. If covered by the new rules, Bing would be required to give a choice of other search engines. Advisers say this would diminish its already tiny market share of just 3 per cent.

However, the Washington-based company is “unlikely” to dispute that the world’s most popular PC operating system, Windows, meets the definition of a gatekeeper.

Also read | What is EU’s new Digital Services Act and how will it impact non-EU regions?

Meanwhile, Apple has argued that iMessage hasn’t met the threshold of users that would subject it to the same DMA rules that rival apps such as Meta’s WhatsApp are exposed to.

Even as Apple hasn’t disclosed any figures for several years, analysts estimate that iMessage has around 1 billion users globally. FT says that the decision to include iMessage depends largely on how the EU defines the market in which the platform operates.

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Once the EU has finalised the list of gatekeepers, they’ll have six months to comply with the DMA. Most of these companies and their respective platforms will also be subject to the Digital Services Act (DSA), which the DMA is a part of. The DSA is a new set of rules that aims to make the online world safer and more transparent for users in the EU, but is expected to have effects worldwide.