I agree that Apple is totally within their legal right to not only take the actions they are against Beeper, as well as operate iMessage in the way they have been. However, I want to make the argument why regulation of iMessage is justified.

Basically, in capitalist societies, where the productivity of the populace is the main financial engine of the economy, what is the purpose of laws and regulations? I'd argue it to boost the productivity of the populace, and both promoting the common good and creating fair competition is a very important part of that. What's the point of opening a local business and investing in innovation if someone can just come along and steal it, as long as they have a moral justification? Which is why the Amex argument makes so much sense: hijacking the investment Amex made on 'moral' grounds makes absolutely no sense. But, as argued by refulgentis, messaging is now a vital service. And while Apple may not look like a monopoly now, they might soon.

Currently, 87% of US Teens have iPhones, and pretty much all of them plan on their next phone being an iPhone[1]. All these people know is iPhones, and without seeing the transition to iMessage, they have no idea what the underlying technology is.

I've seen this first hand, just finishing my undergrad a year ago. When I was an incoming freshman, I had a Google Pixel. In my Comp Sci and EE classes, there was a decent mix of iPhones and Androids, and whenever a group chat was made, nobody had issues using whatever app worked best.

But, I had another group of friends who I went to tailgates with. This group ballooned to 60+ people by Junior year, and I was the only Comp Sci/EE student, though there were a lot of other engineers. We organized tailgates through GroupMe, so they knew other apps existed. However, I was also the only person with an Android phone. Groupchats with me were out of the question. Even small, 3-4 person examples, nobody wanted to download Whatsapp or Signal or anything. Most of these people were genuinely nice people, but their entire perception of messaging and the iPhones superiority was rooted in iMessage. The people who were kind enough to listen to me explain how 'SMS is from literally before we were born, and of course Android phones can send high res pictures, just not through iMessage,' still couldn't be bothered to download another app. The perception was that I was high maintenance for having an Android, and I should just get an iPhone. And when my Pixel died, can you guess what phone I got?

I am pretty sure most of these people will grow up and start downloading other messaging apps when they encounter Android users in their professional careers. But an entire generation is growing up, taking their technology for granted (some people in Comp Sci didn't know how folders worked at first, they grew up just searching for things in Windows) and just assume Android is incapable of modern texting.

When I had the choice of staying connected to my social group, or getting the new Pixel I actually wanted, it didn't feel like much of a choice. And I think it's hard to argue the perception that caused that social pressure isn't by design. Even my parents were kind of annoyed the whole time I had an Android, as I was literally the only reason the entire family used Whatsapp (outside of my dad for professional reasons).

So to bring it back to the legal premise, lack of consumer choice hurts consumers. So while Apple is in their legal right to protect iMessage, I believe the laws need to be changed when the current laws aren't upholding that common good and allowing for fair and open competition.

I agree that forcing iMessage to open up is totally in Googles favor, and the duopoly itself is something that needs to be addressed as well. But it shouldn't be an excuse to not fix another issue.

If you read this whole thing, well thanks haha. I just couldn't get this off my mind, and want to practice more getting my thoughts written down. If you see holes in my reasoning, or if any of my comment is inappropriate, feel free to tear me apart, lol. Happy new year!

[1] https://www.pipersandler.com/teens