European Union's antitrust threat over Apple Inc.'s
What Happened: The Commission's decisions mark the end of investigations that commenced in September.
As per the Commission's announcement, Apple's iMessage, Microsoft Corp.'s
Despite fulfilling these criteria, both tech heavyweights presented "rebuttal" arguments, contending that these services should not be categorized as gateways.
After thoroughly assessing all arguments and consultation with the Digital Markets Advisory Committee, the Commission concurred with Apple and Microsoft's viewpoint.
The Commission's decisions do not affect the designation of Apple and Microsoft as gatekeepers, a status granted on Sept. 5, 2023.
Why It Matters: These investigations were initiated in the wake of a push by tech giants to prevent their services from being classified as "gatekeepers" under the DMA.
Apple and Microsoft launched an attempt to exempt their services, iMessage and Bing, from this designation.
However, in November, Alphabet Inc.'s