Comment on Google turns to regulators to make Apple open up iMessage
edinbruh@feddit.it 7 months agoThat’s weird because it’s against the law.
A recent (few months ago) EU law mandates that if your platform is big enough (in the EU market) to gatekeep users from using other platforms, then it must interoperate with competing services. That means you should thrive because you make a better product, and not because it has more users.
The fine is a considerable percentage of the company’s earnings, that supposedly even the likes of Amazon and Google cannot overlook.
This includes Whatsapp that in a few months will have to be interoperable with competing services like telegram. This requires a protocol, the IETF is working on that. Google probably wishes to use RCS, but Matrix is also working with the IETF.
Apple says iMessage is not that widespread in the EU and should not be included, Google says it is and should be regulated, that’s because this regulation will most likely have effects even outside the EU.
dojan@lemmy.world 7 months ago
I’m not surprised they’d say that, even though it’s a bald-faced lie. iMessages isn’t an opt-in service, you can’t even opt-out of it; it’s fully automatic. If your text recipient has an iPhone and can use iMessages, it’s sent via that. There seems to be a way to opt-out of this in settings. though I’ve not tried it myself.
EmpathicVagrant@lemmy.world 7 months ago
You say iMessage isn’t an opt-out service, then immediately state the setting option that allows users to opt out. Yes, if you toggle off iMessage you will send via SMS instead and won’t be sending through iMessage at all.
dojan@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Ha, what a blooper. What I meant was that you’re never presented with an option to send via text rather than iMessage, but have to dig through the settings app to change it.
EmpathicVagrant@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Okay, that makes a lot more sense. Though all my experience with an active apple device, there’s a default to send a failed iMessage as an SMS so it’s essentially covered. iMessage just allows like-devices to communicate via internet connection rather than phone towers.