Google, telecom groups urge Brussels to act on iMessage, FT reports

Google (GOOG, GOOGL) and some of Europe’s biggest telecoms operators have urged Brussels to designate Apple’s (AAPL) iMessage as a “core” service that would mandate Apple to make the chat app compatible with competitors, the Financial Times’ Javier Espinoza reports, citing a letter sent to the European Commission. The body is currently evaluating whether iMessage should be on a list of services that must comply with the Digital Markets Act and the letter, which had signatories including a Google SVP and the chief executives of Vodafone (VOD), Deutsche Telekom (DTEGY), Telefonica (TEF) and Orange (ORAN), claimed Apple’s service meets the qualitative thresholds of the act and therefore should be captured by the rules to “benefit European consumers and businesses”.