Legal issues with iMessage are mounting, and not just in the European Union. The appearance of Beeper Mini as an option for using iMessage on Android and its subsequent blocking by Apple attracted the attention of American legislation.
A group of representatives sent a letter to the United States Department of Justice, formally requesting that Apple under investigation for ‘potentially anti-competitive treatment’ by blocking this on Beeper Mini. And of course, this put Apple Park’s lawyers on alert, who are busy blocking the sale of Apple Watches.
US senator calls on government to closely monitor Apple
The letter It is specifically authored by Senator Amy Klobuchar, Senator Mike Lee, Representative Jerry Nadler and Representative Ken Buck. They point out that Apple has been accused of monopolistic practices in the past and that the blocking of Beeper Mini could also mean “a security and privacy risk” for its users by not being able to guarantee the encryption of messages.
We return to the debate that has always surrounded iMessage: Apple defends that it is its own service and that they have the right to offer it as they see fit to protect their users, while from the opposite point of view, it It is argued that iMessage should be interoperable. And to some extent it will, as Apple has already confirmed that the service will be integrated into the RCS standard.
It is precisely this last gesture which risks diminishing the importance of this letter. Once iMessage is integrated into RCS and interoperability with Android messaging is a reality, Beeper Mini will lose much of its meaning. The only thing it would do (if they don’t block it) is turn the green bubbles into blue. That’s good, that’s all.
Beeper Mini’s Reaction: It’s All Free and Waiting
Eric Migikovsky, co-founder of Beeper Mini, already showed some enthusiasm for the letter and said we will see more news in the rest of the week. For the moment, the service canceled his payment deadline for all users, because Apple’s blocks prevent the correct sending and receiving of messages.
Beyond this change, we will have to wait to see whether the Justice Department responds with a formal investigation or simply ignores the statement. But the signs are mounting: it doesn’t seem like Apple can maintain its “walled gardens” for long.
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