Europe Is Asking Users If They Want Apple’s iMessage Regulated: Here’s What It Means – News18

Apple faces more pressure from the European Union (EU) right after it was forced into using USB-C ports on iPhones. The company could now be forced to regulate iMessage for users, and the EU wants to know from the users whether the messaging app for iPhones should be regulated.

The EU has reportedly sent a questionnaire to iPhone users, seeking their inputs on the subject, as the regulator is looking to put iMessage under the new Digital Markets Act (DMA). Apple claims that iMessage is not eligible to comply with DMA as it has a negligible user base but industry reports suggest, iMessage is used by more than billion users, who also use the iPhones.

Apple has smartly avoided giving out numbers for iMessage users over the years but that is unlikely to give it any reprieve from the new DMA rules in Europe. The regulator has sought the responses to the survey in a week’s time and want to wrap up the investigation in under five months, as per the MacRumors report.

Apple and other tech giants face intense scrutiny in Europe with regulators making sure the technology standards comply with its norms and offer consumers the freedom to choose from different options. Standardising phone chargers was becoming a big pain point for the regulators, which was eventually sorted by Apple’s decision after multiple attempts.

The iPhone maker is now being forced to make changes to its App Store policies, and allow sideloading of apps in the region, something that Tim Cook and Co. have vehemently rejected with the concerns around platform’s security if apps from other stores are allowed on iPhones.

This is where the DMA looks to solidify moves like these, giving them the legal support to go ahead with decisions like these. So it is hardly surprising to see Apple, Microsoft and other tech giants trying different ways to avoid being regulated for all their apps.