Until now we have only been able to interact from WhatsApp to other applications by sharing multimedia files, but to Starting in March, both WhatsApp and other well-known applications on the internet will be forced to allow interoperability between apps. I'll tell you what the interoperability that the European Commission has mandated is.
Why this sudden change in strategy?
This change is produced by the imposition of a new digital markets law in the European Union. This law, called “DMA” for its acronym in English “Digital Markets Act”, is one of the first ways to stop comprehensively regulate the control power of the largest digital companies.
The selected messaging apps, from now on and within a period of six months, They have the responsibility to comply with the obligations established by the "DMA". They must also present a detailed report showing compliance with these regulations.
This new interoperability function between apps is provided by the European Commission, which will supervise compliance with these obligations and will sanction those apps that do not comply with this standard with significant fines. But, What companies are affected by this law? I tell you.
Services that have been designated as “gatekeepers” by the new Digital Markets Law
The European Commission has appointed 6 large companies as "gatekeepers". This group of companies is made up of some of the most recognized and important companies on the Internet. These companies are A (owner of Google), Amazon, Apple , ByteDance (owner of TikTok), Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) and Microsoft.
The applications and tools of these companies are understood as the gateway to this type of services for many users and therefore must be regulated. Specific, There are 22 services regulated by this new law, also called access gatekeepers, They are:
- Tiktok
- Google Maps
- Google Play
- Google Shopping
- Amazon Marketplace
- App Store
- Meta Marketplace
- Google Ads
- amazon ads
- MetaAds
- Chrome browser
- Safari browser
- Android operating system
- IOS operating system
- Windows PC OS operating system
- Messenger
- Youtube
- Google search service
What is interoperability between apps?
This word refers, as the word itself says, operability between applications. This means that You can send messages through WhatsApp so that they can be read in applications from other companies such as Facebook Messenger or Telegram. This functionality is one of the most anticipated news from WhatsApp even if it has been forced by a law.
But this does not mean that you can send a message from Telegram to WhatsApp since the European commission in charge of The “DMA” only requires the aforementioned “gatekeepers” to allow this interoperability..
If you are more familiar with the gaming world, for example, you can find something similar with the «cross game» between platforms if we talk about video games (such as «Fortnite» which allows you to play with friends from different platforms such as PlayStation or Xbox on the same computer).
When will this change come?
The notification by the European Commission to these companies took place in July 2023 and the last date to comply with this law is March of this year, so At most we will have to wait a little less than a month to see these new features underway.
Specific on March 6 It should be possible to send instant messages from WhatsApp to other applications with the latest version of the app. Otherwise, WhatsApp would face a fine that would seriously harm the company.
I think it is a change that is good for us internet users and that aims to control the large companies that operate on the internet. Furthermore, it is only the beginning of a regulation that will continue to offer more and more functionalities between applications from different companies.
What do you think, Do you think it is a good step to control monopolies on the internet or do you think it is currently unnecessary regulation? I read you in comments.