Euros crusade to crack open iMessage

Apple's iMessage will interoperate with other messaging services like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger by the end of the year, if the European Union gets its way.

The EU's Digital Markets Act would force the big messaging services to open up and work with each other, as well as smaller messaging platforms.

The move would be a big blow to iMessage, which has long been a strong selling point for the iPhone.

Apple exec Eddie Cue actually suggested such integration back in 2013, but was shot down by his peers. Another Apple exec, Craig Federighi, said making iMessage compatible with other services would encourage iPhone families to give cheap Android phones to their kids.

It should be noted that in 2019, Mark Zuckerberg ordered his engineers to integrate Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram -- and they still haven't managed it.

-- Leander Kahney, EIC.

The European Union wants to break down the barriers between mobile messaging services. With its Digital Markets Act, it plans to force services like iMessage, WhatsApp and smaller messaging platforms to play nicely together.

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Tweet o' the day

One more thing ...

"Somebody once told me, 'Manage the top line, and the bottom line will follow.' What's the top line? It's things like, why are we doing this in the first place? What's our strategy? What are customers saying? How responsive are we? Do we have the best products and the best people? Those are the kind of questions you have to focus on." -- Steve Jobs

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