The European Union has exempted Apple Inc.’s iMessage service and three Microsoft Corp. products from certain regulatory requirements that apply to large online platforms.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, announced the move today.

At the center of the decision is a high-profile antitrust law called the Digital Markets Act, or DMA, that the bloc implemented in 2022. It focuses on preventing anticompetitive behavior by “gatekeepers,” tech giants with popular services that meet certain antitrust criteria. Last September, the EU designated Apple and Microsoft as gatekeepers along with four other companies.

The DMA requires tech giants to provide a simple way for consumers to uninstall their apps. Additionally, the legislation places restrictions on how personal data may be used in targeted advertising. The DMA also contains more narrowly focused rules that apply only to certain types of services such as app stores.

If a tech company is designated as a gatekeeper, the manner in which it must comply with the legislation depends on its product lineup. Certain provisions of the DMA only apply to products that are designated as “core platform services” by regulators. The decision the EU published today specifies iMessage and three Microsoft products, namely Bing, Edge and Microsoft Advertising, don’t qualify as core platform services, which means they will be regulated less heavily.

The ruling is the fruit of four parallel antitrust investigations that began last September. That month, the EU determined iMessage, Bing, Edge and Microsoft Advertising technically meet the thresholds necessary to qualify as core platform services. But Apple and Microsoft argued their respective products don’t qualify in practice, which prompted regulators to launch a more thorough review.

“Following a thorough assessment of all arguments, taking into account input by relevant stakeholders, and after hearing the Digital Markets Advisory Committee, the Commission found that iMessage, Bing, Edge and Microsoft Advertising do not qualify as gatekeeper services,” the European Commission said in a statement.

The development likely holds particular significance for Apple. The DMA includes a provision that specifies dominant messaging apps must provide interoperability with competing services. This rule may have required Apple to modify iMessage, which doesn’t provide interoperability with competing services, had the app not been exempted by the European Commission today.

The iPhone maker’s app compatibility practices have also drawn scrutiny in other jurisdictions. In response, Apple last year announced plans to roll out support for the RCS communications protocol to iOS. The protocol will enable iPhone and Android users to exchange messages, but it’s unclear whether the technology will be available in iMessage or as part of a separate app.

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