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- Google signed a letter to the EU asking for iMessage to be made a "core platform service."
- Under the bloc's Digital Markets Act, that would require Apple to make it compatible with other phones.
- The green text bubble currently singles out non-iPhone users.
Google and several telecom companies are asking European regulators to require that Apple's iMessage is made compatible with other phones, the Financial Times reported.
That could make the green text bubbles, which single out non-iPhone users a thing of the past.
According to the FT, Google and the other signatories want iMessage to be designated as a "core platform service" under the European Union's Digital Markets Act.
The DMA is a major piece of legislation that aims to give more choice to users by setting strict competition rules. Apple and Alphabet, Google's parent company, are among the six tech giants that were named as "gatekeepers" because they run important services.
WhatsApp and Meta's Messenger have been designated as core platform services, meaning they are subject to stronger regulation.
And the European Union has already been investigating whether iMessage should be deemed a core platform service, since it announced the designations in September.
If iMessage becomes one too, Apple will have to make it interoperable with other phone operating systems like Google's Android.
Currently, green bubbles on Apple's service indicate that a text has been sent via SMS rather than iMessage. And several Gen Z Android users say they've been teased for not having an iPhone — identified by the lack of a blue message.
The FT reports that the companies' letter to to the EU's internal market commissioner, Thierry Breton, said the "fundamental nature" of iMessage as "an important gateway between business users and their customers is without doubt justification for Apple's designation as gatekeeper for its iMessage service."
They added consumers would be better off as a result of the designation because "enriched messaging" is only available between Apple users, per the FT.
Apple and Google did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
An Apple spokesperson pointed the FT to an earlier statement which said: "Consumers today have access to a wide variety of messaging apps, and often use many at once, which reflects how easy it is to switch between them," and "we look forward to explaining to the commission why iMessage is outside the scope of the DMA."