Law Changes Affect Messaging

Interestingly, these EU law changes force big tech companies to do what Click4Assistance has been offering for a long time: integrated messaging services. For instance, our instant messaging system lets businesses chat with users on a variety of platforms, including Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, from a single dashboard, simplifying text chat considerably. We know from our own experience that there is no technical reason for siloing users into different apps. It is purely a business decision made by Facebook and other big players.

The New Rules Aim To Tackle The Power Of Big Tech In Europe

European regulators have a long and difficult history with American big tech companies. Now they are trying to go further to rein in their power and give consumers more choice.

According to France’s digital economy minister, Cédric O, the new legislation will tackle the power of big tech directly. Rules will come into force by the end of the year, requiring Meta, Apple and Google to enable their services to interact with each other. European Members of Parliament (MEPs) want them to allow users to download apps from each others’ stores and provide cross-app text functionality.

To defend their position, MEPs cite how communication works with legacy technologies. According to Paul Tang MEP, landline telephone users don’t have to remain with the same provider to communicate with each other. Instead, it is an open system customers can call anyone. For instance, a person subscribed to BT can quite easily call up someone on Verizon.

MEPs also point out how network monopolies keep some platforms dominant, even if they don’t offer the best service. People tend to use the big apps, like WhatsApp and Messenger, they argue, not because they offer a superior service, but because that’s what everyone else uses. If they want to communicate with their friends, they have to use those apps.

This new bill seeks to undermine that business model. By forcing tech giants to allow cross-compatibility, consumers can choose whichever chat messaging app they want. For example, if text service A offers poor data protection policies, users can simply switch to app B without being limited to whom they can text. This way, no single player is being deprived of revenue, the Commission argues.

According to Tang and some other MEPs, the original version of the legislation would have gone even further. Big tech companies would need to provide full interoperability across social media platforms. But that project has now been shelved for the distant future due to technical difficulties.

Tang expressed his disappointment that getting the new rules to this stage had taken so long. It’s a “scandal” he said, that consumers have had to wait three years for this to happen.

When Will The New Law Changes Come Into Effect?

Tech companies don’t have long to respond to the new EU law. From October 1, they will need to demonstrate that they are no longer siloing users on their platforms and are opening up their marketplaces.

Technically, the law still requires final ratification by the EU’s 27 member states. However, that process is likely to be a formality. Once the new rules come into place, it will be the responsibility of businesses to prove to the EU that they don’t have “unfair” business models, according to Margrethe Vestager, the EU Commission’s vice president.

Not all companies will be affected, though. The rules only apply to tech companies with revenues exceeding €75 billion (£65 billion) meaning that only Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Facebook will be affected. Any company that doesn’t comply with the law will face a fine of up to 20 percent of its global revenues if they continue operating in the EU.

For regular businesses, the change is most welcome. It means that companies can easily communicate across apps with their customers, without having to constantly switch between them.

Wrapping Up

When customers ask us: “can I use chat software for my website that will work across all platforms?” we tell them, “yes.” Click4Assistance integrates with Facebook Messanger and What’s App. Now the EU is supporting our approach in the form of a new law that will address long-standing competition issues in the chat space.