FCC commissioner pushes to investigate Apple’s decision to block Beeper Mini
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said on Monday that the agency should investigate Apple’s decision to block the Beeper Mini service, which is working to bring iMessage to Android.
Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky’s Beeper launched a new service in December called Beeper Mini, which claims to have reverse-engineered the iMessage stack so that it can run on Android. The next few days were a cat-and-mouse game, with Apple repeatedly blocking Beeper Mini while the latter tried to find a solution. Later this month, Beeper gave up on trying to get iMessage running on Android via the Beeper Mini, calling the efforts “unsustainable.”
Carr talked about viewing the incident with FCC Part 14 rules in mind. The rules outline that “advanced communications services” should be “accessible and usable by persons with disabilities.”
“Apple’s broader exclusionary practices deserve scrutiny from antitrust and competition agencies, but the FCC should also review this specific incident through our Part 14 rules on accessibility, usability, and compatibility. “
Carr said the Beeper Mini promotes some of these principles, such as accessibility and usability for people with disabilities.
He accused Apple of saying that providers “may not install network features, functionality or capabilities that impede accessibility or usability.”
The FCC had no immediate comment on plans to investigate the issue.
Apple’s decision appears to have caught the attention of regulators. In December, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Apple’s “potential anticompetitive treatment” of Beeper, saying “Interoperability and interconnectivity have long been key to competition in communications services and consumer choice.” Drivers.” In addition, Senator Elizabeth Warren also criticized Apple’s move at the time.
from Tech Empire Solutions https://techempiresolutions.com/fcc-commissioner-pushes-to-investigate-apples-decision-to-block-beeper-mini/
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from Tech Empire Solutions https://techempiresolutions.blogspot.com/2024/02/fcc-commissioner-pushes-to-investigate.html
via https://techempiresolutions.com/
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