Tuesday, March 26

Send a message from WhatsApp, receive it on Telegram: the EU wants compatible messaging apps


Europe is agreeing to new rules that “limit the market power of the big online platforms.” Under the umbrella of the Digital Markets Law (DMA), it wants to allow the giants of messaging services be interoperable with smaller platformsin case the latter request it.

Sending a message from Signal (or any other non-majority messaging platform) to a WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger contact would be possible if these proposals are approved. They are also proposed penalties of up to 20% of the company’s total turnover in case of non-compliance with interoperability requirements.

Cross-Compatible Messaging Apps: Small to Large

WhatsApp

The European Parliament and Council try to continue regulating the digital market, putting the focus back on what they call “basic platform services”, technological giants such as Google, Meta or Apple. According to the EU, the platforms of these companies are “more prone to unfair commercial practices”, with each having a market capitalization of at least €75 billion or a current turnover of €7.5 billion.

If a company qualifies to be a “gatekeeper”, it will be obliged to open its platform to “smaller” third-party applications

If they meet these characteristics, which also include having at least 45 million monthly users in Europe or 10,000 annual commercial users, Europe will consider these companies as ‘Guardians’: companies that will be obliged to open your platform to smaller third parties. This is how users of these smaller apps can send and receive messages from the majority platforms, as well as send files and even make video calls. Complete interoperability between large and small apps.

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This would fulfill the utopian scenario of sending a message from minority apps to platforms like WhatsApp, without the need to have the majority platform service installed. This clashes head-on with the position of giants like Apple, who are opposed to iMessage working on Android, fearing a loss of users.

If these regulations are approved, in case of non-compliance, the Commission reserves the right to impose fines of up to 10% of the total world turnover in the previous financial year, reaching up to 20% in the case of repeated violations. In the same way, the acquisition of other companies may be prohibited for a certain time, in the event that they systematically fail to comply with the rule.

The text is pending approval in Parliament, giving technology companies a period of six months for its implementation, in the event that the proposal goes ahead.

More information | European Parliament

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