The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is being urged by Commissioner Brendan Carr to investigate Apple Inc. AAPL over the company’s recent decision to block the Beeper Mini service. This service was designed to bring iMessage to Android.
What Happened: On Tuesday, Carr suggested that the FCC should look into Apple’s actions regarding the Beeper Mini service, TechCrunch reported. The Beeper Mini service, created by Eric Migicovsky, the founder of Pebble, claimed to have reverse-engineered the iMessage stack to make it functional on Android.
Apple repeatedly blocked Beeper Mini’s attempts to make iMessage work on Android, leading Beeper to abandon its efforts as “unsustainable.” Carr suggested that these actions might have violated the FCC’s Part 14 rules, which require “advanced communications service” to be accessible to individuals with disabilities.
See Also: From Tesla Drivers To German Customs, Apple Vision Pro Shines Bright: This Week In Appleverse
“Apple’s wider set of exclusionary practices warrant scrutiny by antitrust and competition agencies, but the FCC should also examine this particular incident through the lens of our Part 14 rules on accessibility, usability, and compatibility,” Carr said.
He also noted that Beeper Mini promoted principles such as accessibility and usability for people with disabilities, and Apple’s actions may have violated the FCC’s rules on accessibility and usability.
Why It Matters: This is the latest development in the ongoing saga between Apple and Beeper. In December, Apple swiftly shut down the Beeper Mini app, which allowed Android users to access iMessage. This led to a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers urging the DOJ to launch an antitrust investigation into Apple’s conduct.
Benzinga has reached out to Apple to confirm the authenticity of the report. We shall update this story as soon as we hear from them.
Read Next: Three Sentences That Saved Apple’s Macintosh 1984 Launch And Underlined Steve Jobs’ Leadership
Photo courtesy: Beeper Mini
Engineered by Benzinga Neuro, Edited by Pooja Rajkumari
The GPT-4-based Benzinga Neuro content generation system exploits the extensive Benzinga Ecosystem, including native data, APIs, and more to create comprehensive and timely stories for you. Learn more.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
