- Pakistan at 23-1 after Brook triple hundred takes England to 823-7
- Zelensky meets Starmer, Rutte on whirlwind tour of Europe
- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Rafael Nadal calls time on epic tennis career
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- Philippines confronts China over South China Sea at ASEAN meet
- Kim Sei-young shoots 62 to take two-stroke lead at LPGA Shanghai
- The haircuts that help traumatised Ukrainian soldiers heal
- Sinner crushes Medvedev to set up potential Alcaraz Shanghai semi
- 7-Eleven owner restructures to fight takeover
- England's Harry Brook blasts triple century against Pakistan
- Chinese electric car companies cope with European tariffs
- Zelensky in London for whirlwind tour of Europe ahead of US vote
- Sri Lanka recovering faster than expected: World Bank
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as most markets track Wall St record
- Record-breaking Root, Brook both pass 200 as England pile up 658-3
- Football mourns Greek defender George Baldock's shock death at 31
- Uniqlo owner reports record annual earnings
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as markets track Wall St record
- Indonesia biomass drive threatens key forests: report
- Home is far away for Madagascar in AFCON qualifying
- Two months on, Donbas soldiers begin to question Kursk offensive
- Rugby Australia to counter-sue in dispute with Melbourne Rebels
- Mumbai mourns Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- Philippines challenges China over South China Sea at ASEAN meet
- Mets advance on Lindor blast, Dodgers stay alive in MLB playoffs
- Injury-ravaged Krygios aiming to return at Australian Open
- Greek international Baldock, dead at 31: family
- EU talks deportation hubs to stem migration
- Deaths and repression sideline Suu Kyi's party ahead of Myanmar vote
- S. Africa offers a lesson on how not to shut down a coal plant
- China opens $71 bn 'swap facility' to boost markets
- Mets advance on Lindor grand slam, Yankees and Tigers win
- Taiwan President Lai vows to 'resist annexation' of island
- China's solar goes from supremacy to oversupply
- Asian markets track Wall St record as Hong Kong, Shanghai stabilise
- 'Denying my potential': women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance
- China's central bank says opens up $70.6 bn in liquidity to boost market
- Zelensky on whirlwind tour of Europe ahead of US vote
- Youth facing unprecedented wave of violence, UN envoy warns
- 'A casino in every kitchen': Brazil's online gambling craze
- Nobel chemistry winner sees engineered proteins solving tough problems
- Lindor powers Mets past Phillies into NL Championship Series
- Wildlife populations plunge 73% since 1970: WWF
- 'Sleeper agent' bots on X fuel US election misinformation, study says
- Death toll rises to 109 after Haiti gang attack, official says
- Tigers beat Guardians and on brink of advancing in MLB playoffs
- Argentina MPs back Milei's veto of university funding
- Man City sink Barca in Women's Champions League as Bayern outgun Arsenal
- Greek international Baldock, 31, found dead in pool: state agency
Apple's iMessage, Microsoft's Bing escape EU rules
Apple's iMessage and Microsoft's Bing search engine got a reprieve from tougher EU rules curbing how tech titans do business, the European Commission said on Tuesday.
From next month, the world's biggest digital firms, identified as "gatekeepers" by the EU, must comply with strict do's and don'ts under a landmark law.
The commission announced in September that 22 "core" services provided by the designated gatekeepers -- Google's Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, TikTok parent ByteDance, Facebook owner Meta and Microsoft -- met the thresholds for mandatory compliance.
The European Commission at the same time launched probes to consider whether Apple's messaging service iMessage, Microsoft's Bing, and Microsoft's browser Edge and advertising service should also be included.
"Yesterday (Monday), the Commission has adopted decisions closing four market investigations... finding that Apple and Microsoft should not be designated as gatekeepers" for the four services, the EU's executive arm said in a statement.
The commission in September also said it would investigate Apple's iPad system. That probe is to be completed within 12 months from the announcement.
Apple and Microsoft hailed this week's decision.
"We thank the Commission for agreeing with us that iMessage should not be designated under the DMA (Digital Markets Act)," an Apple spokesperson said in a statement.
"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."
A Microsoft spokesperson said: "We welcome the Commission's decision to exempt Bing, Edge, and Microsoft Advertising, which operate as challengers in the market.
"We will continue to engage with the Commission and industry at large to ensure Microsoft's other designated platforms comply fully with the DMA."
The DMA seeks to encourage competition in the digital world. For example, the law demands interoperability between apps, meaning users should in theory be able to message each other from different platforms.
The EU has built a powerful legal arsenal to take on the internet giants, including the DMA and its sister milestone law, the Digital Services Act (DSA).
The DSA demands the most popular social networks and websites police content online more aggressively and protect consumers while they shop.
P.Mathewson--AMWN