Interoperability of messaging services is one of the big wins for the Socialists and Democrats. Consumers will be able to send messages from one application to another, for example, users will be able to chat using Viber with contacts on Whatsapp or Facebook Messenger without need to install all three apps on their phones. This success for citizens comes thanks to the work of the S&D Group at the trilogue on the Digital Markets Act that concluded late last night between the EU member states, the European Parliament and the European Commission as an intermediary. For the S&Ds, achieving interoperability for messaging services is a game changer.

René Repasi MEP, the S&D negotiator on the Digital Markets Act, said:

“I am satisfied by the outcome of the negotiations as we substantially improved the legislative proposal of the European Commission. Interoperability will be a reality and this is a success reached thanks to my work in the negotiations last night. There are also many other things that we achieved, like the possibility to restrict so-called ‘killer acquisitions’. This rule gives the Commission the power to intervene and ban big companies from destroying competitors by buying them when a small company starts growing. We, the Socialists and Democrats, are not working against Big Tech, we just want to give smaller companies a chance. This is a big achievement not only in encouraging innovation and creativity but as well in terms of defending democracy and the right for users to choose. Our group believes the digital world should not be a jungle without rules, where only the strongest survive. In fact, the guiding idea for our group is to make the digital world in Europe fair and with clear rules that benefit both consumers and companies of all sizes.

“The protection of minors from so-called ‘targeted advertising’ was a controversial issue during our negotiations on the rules for digital markets. Children, as the most vulnerable in our society and with their personalities still developing, should be protected from this abusive practice. Despite resistance, we managed to ensure – together with S&D MEP Christel Schaldemose, the leading negotiator on the Digital Services Act – a political declaration by the French Council Presidency that the protection of minors and sensitive data will be secured in the Digital Service Act."