Ángel Jiménez from Luis USA
USA
Updated Tuesday, February 13, 2024-21:49
The
Digital Markets Law
has completely changed the rules by which large technology platforms played. They will have to open their application stores, allow alternatives to their services and even give space in their apps to the competition.
The effects will begin to be noticed starting in March, when companies like
Apple, Meta or Google
begin to open their different applications and services to adapt to the new legislation, which tries to stop those it considers as "digital guardians." ", companies that have created a complex system of rules that for practical purposes prevents competition.
Apple, for example, will soon be forced to accept the existence of application stores managed by
third parties
on the iPhone
and will have to open its hand with the payment systems that it allows in its own store - until now you could only buy applications with the company's payment platforms.
Meta, you will also have to give up and open
. The famous messaging application must show messages from other applications next to its own.
But even though the Law defines
Apple, Google, Microsoft or Meta as digital "guardians"
, not all of these companies' services will have to adapt to the new regulation. Some have been saved because they do not have a significant market share and the European Commission has finally said what they will be.
Apple 's instant messaging platform
, iMessage,
is the most relevant. During the last few months, Europe has hinted that it was not comfortable with the way in which this application is integrated into the operating system and the absence of versions for
Android.
Google, Apple's main rival, has also tried to convince the Union that at least the application should better support
RCS
, the standard that is considered the natural evolution of SMS
and
that includes several of the features that iMessage has. implemented from the beginning, as better support for photos and videos.
Apple has maintained throughout this time that the use of
iMessage in Europe
is very low and therefore should not be on the list of regulated applications. It has been a complex defense.
Technically,
iMessage
meets the requirements imposed by the Union to enter the list of key services that must be opened to competition (having more than 45 million users in Europe and being controlled by a company with a capitalization of more than 75 billion euros) but the little activity it has in the old continent, where WhatsApp dominates the messaging market, has ended up convincing legislators.
The other company that has managed to save some of its applications is Microsoft. The
European Union
will not force you to make changes to your website search engine,
Bing.
Microsoft will also not have to modify the commercial strategy of Edge, its web browser, which comes installed as standard with Windows but can be easily replaced.
The fourth and final service that could have entered the list of regulated platforms is
Microsoft Advertising
, Microsoft's advertising platform. The Union has also decided that, although it technically meets the requirements set out in the law, it does not have the scope or importance necessary to force its opening.
"The Commission will continue to monitor market developments with respect to these services, in case any substantial changes arise," the Commission explains.