Beeper Mini managed to pull off the impossible in bringing a proper iMessage app to Android, but Apple shut it down in a matter of days. Now, members of the US government are calling for an investigation into Apple’s shutdown of Beeper Mini, which sets the stage for much bigger conversations.
A little over a week after Apple confirmed that it shut down Beeper Mini (mostly), four US representatives are calling on the US Department of Justice to look into the matter. A letter to the Assistant Attorney General calls on the DOJ’s Antitrust Divison to investigate whether Apple’s shutdown of Beeper’s service “violated the antitrust laws.”
The letter was signed by senators Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee, as well as US representatives Jerrold Nadler and Ken Buck. Notably, the letter has bipartisan support.
Through the letter, Congress members cited a report from the Department of Commerce where Apple was described as a “gatekeeper” and also mentioned that “Apple executives have previously admitted the company leverages iMessage to lock users into Apple’s ecosystem of devices and services.” That is likely referring to emails where Craig Federighi said that releasing iMessage on Android would “simply serve to remove an obstacle” in parents buying their children Android phones.
The letter, shared by Jo Ling Kent of CBS News reads in part:
“We are therefore concerned that Apple’s recent actions to disable Beeper Mini harm competition, eliminate choices for consumers, and will discourage future innovation and investment in interoperable messaging services. We also fear these types of tactics may more broadly chill future investment and innovation for those that seek to compete with existing digital gatekeepers. Thus, we refer this matter to the Antitrust Divsion to investigate whether this potentially anticompetitive conduct by Apple violated antitrust laws…”
Sage Miles was here
Empty comment by: Gonzales Sariyah
was here…some tracker named “Sage Atkins”