In keeping up with the sprawling digital landscape, fresh regulatory interventions from the European Union (EU) have made their mark, particularly on leading tech corporations. WhatsApp, as it appears, has initiated groundwork for cross-platform messaging, in a bid to align with the implications of the recently announced Digital Markets Act (DMA).
The EU released a roster of six tech mammoths last week, bringing them under the DMA's scope and as a result, identifying them as gatekeepers of the digital world. Among these titans are Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft. The listing has prompted quick responses, and just within days following the announcement, the noted update to WhatsApp emerged. WABetaInfo was the initial outlet to report the new feature titled 'third-party chats' soon to grace the well-known messaging platform.
In the pipeline for the Android application of WhatsApp, this novel screen introduces a separate section distinctly set apart from the conventional WhatsApp inbox. Although currently empty, the core purpose of this upgrade is to foster an exclusive menu accommodating incoming messages from users on other messaging utilities.
The detailed listing by the EU, involving these six gatekeepers encompassed numerous categories containing pertinent platform services for each. One entity featured in multiple categories is Google, providing several services that qualify as gatekeeper services. These take the shape of various 'intermediation' services such as Google Maps, Google Play, and Google Shopping, in addition to a search engine, a video-sharing platform (YouTube), an operating system (Android), a web browser (Chrome), and the firm's ads delivery system.
Simultarily, Meta was also recognized in various categories, operating the leading social networks Facebook and Instagram. The conglomerate also manages an 'intermediation service,' Meta Marketplace, alongside an advertising platform. Yet amongst this myriad of services, Meta truly stands out in the domain of messaging applications.
Under the regulation, messaging applications are labeled as Number-Independent Interpersonal Communication Service (N-IICS). Essentially, the use of this technical term corresponds to a focus on messaging capacities surpassing traditional text messaging. Falling within the DMA's radar are WhatsApp and Messenger, both operated by Meta.
Last year, the EU propositioned that interoperability, the capability to send messages between platforms, will serve as a fundamental requisite for messaging platforms run by gatekeeper entities. Consequently, users of Signal, Telegram, Snapchat, and other similar programs will soon be able to communicate with WhatsApp and Messenger users, all without needing separate accounts on these platforms.
With the clock ticking away, Meta's WhatsApp development team has hastened to infuse interoperability features into its functioning to sustain conformance with the DMA provisions for third-party messengers. As mandated by the new legislation, gatekeepers are placed on a short leash of merely six months to assimilate the full range of obligations. This suggests that by March 2024, cross-platform messaging should be operative and easy to access.
In the broader context, this move presents a substantial leap towards increasing the accessibility and reach of diverse messaging platforms, potentially altering the traditional dynamics of conversational engagement.
Regardless of the platform you're using, the ability to reach your interlocutors could be getting a massive overhaul soon. And in this reshaping landscape, platforms like the AppMaster can make it seamless to establish powerful communication networks with or without code.
