Meta reveals WhatsApp and Messenger interoperability strategy
EU DMA compliance move comes as South Korea mulls antitrust measures against Meta
Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp and Messenger, has revealed its strategy for implementing interoperability with third-party messaging services, aligning with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) enforced by the European Union.
Dick Brouwer, WhatsApp's engineering director, elaborated on the company's approach, emphasising that the users of third-party messaging services opting for interoperability (interop) would be able to exchange messages with opted-in users of Messenger or WhatsApp.
This move comes in response to requirements set forth by the European Commission (EC) under the DMA, aimed at fostering competition and levelling the playing field among tech companies deemed gatekeepers.
The DMA, which officially took effect on 7th March 2024, mandates certain obligations for major tech "gatekeepers" like Meta, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft.
"For nearly two years our team has been working with the EC to implement interop in a way that meets the requirements of the law and maximises the security, privacy and safety of users," Brouwer said.
"In year one, the requirement is for 1:1 text messaging between individual users and the sharing of images, voice messages, videos and other attached files between individual end users. In the future, requirements expand to group functionality and calling."
Meta's compliance efforts entail enabling third-party providers to use the Signal Protocol, ensuring end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for communications.
"In order to maximise user security, we would prefer third-party providers to use the Signal Protocol. Since this has to work for everyone, however, we will allow third-party providers to use a compatible protocol if they are able to demonstrate it offers the same security guarantees as Signal," Brouwer said.
Third-party providers are expected to package encrypted communications into message stanzas using XML.
Media content within messages will be downloaded in encrypted form from third-party servers via a Meta proxy service.
Meta is proposing a "plug-and-play" model for third-party providers to connect to its infrastructure seamlessly.
"Taking the example of WhatsApp, third-party clients will connect to WhatsApp servers using our protocol (based on the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol - XMPP)," Brouwer wrote.
"The WhatsApp server will interface with a third-party server over HTTP in order to facilitate a variety of things including authenticating third-party users and push notifications."
By introducing proxies or intermediaries between clients and WhatsApp servers, Meta acknowledges potential risks, such as exposing chat metadata to proxy servers.
Despite these challenges, Meta's plan represents a significant step towards complying with EU regulations.
South Korea considering sanctions against Meta
The development comes as reports surfaced last week that South Korea's antitrust agency is considering imposing sanctions against Meta over the company's purported failure to safeguard users of its online marketplaces against fraudulent transactions.
As reported by Reuters, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) initiated an investigation into potential violations of the country's ecommerce laws, with an examination report delivered to Meta late last year.
Sources cited by Yonhap News and the Dong-a Ilbo newspaper reveal that this report marks a pivotal step preceding the FTC commissioners' meeting to deliberate on findings and determine potential measures.
Central to the FTC's concerns are assertions that Meta has inadequately implemented protective measures and provided remedies to users ensnared in disputes arising from sales transactions on Facebook and Instagram marketplaces.
Despite the platforms' primary identities as social media networks, they operate marketplaces that, in the eyes of regulators, must comply with ecommerce regulations.