#beeper mini

Do you suffer from 'blue bubble' envy when you send text messages?

The Honorable Jonathan Kanter Assistant Attorney General United States Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530

Dear Assistant Attorney General Kanter:

We write regarding Apple's potential anticompetitive treatment of the Beeper Mini messaging application. We have long-championed increased competition, innovation, and consumer choice in the digital marketplace. To protect free and open markets, it is critical for the Antitrust Division to be vigilant in enforcing our antitrust laws. That is why together we have led efforts in Congress to ensure the agency has the authorities, tools, and resources necessary to police abuses of market power.

Earlier this month, Beeper introduced Beeper Mini, an interoperable messaging service that allows users of the Android mobile operating system to communicate with users of Apple's iMessage service. Previously, Android users were unable to securely communicate with iMessage users and were relegated to using decades-old, unencrypted SMS technology. Within days of its launch, Beeper Mini users began to experience service disruptions. Apple admitted it took action to disable Beeper Mini, citing security and privacy concerns for iMessage users. Apple executives have previously admitted the company leverages iMessage to lock users into Apple's ecosystem of devices and services. Beeper Mini threatened to reduce this leverage creating more competitive mobile applications market, which in turn a more competitive mobile device market.

Earlier this year the Department of Commerce released a report titled Competition in the Mobile Application Ecosystem, describing Apple as a "gatekeeper" with a "monopoly position" in its mobile app ecosystem. The Department of Commerce observed that "antitrust enforcement is essential for ensuring competition in the mobile app ecosystem." These findings are consistent with those of numerous other antitrust enforcers and international competition authorities.

In December 2015, Beeper's Chief Executive Officer, Eric Migicovsky, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights. He expressed concern that dominant messaging services would use their position to impose barriers to interoperability and prevent Beeper entering and delivering services that consumers want. Given Apple's recent actions, that concern appears prescient.

As you know, interoperability and interconnection have long been key drivers of competition and consumer choice in communications services, from telephones to email. Startups and small businesses drive innovation, create jobs, and can disrupt entrenched incumbents when allowed to compete. But consumers will never benefit from competition if dominant firms are allowed to snuff out that competition at its incipiency.

We are therefore concerned that Apple's recent actions to disable Beeper Mini harm competition, eliminate choices for consumers, and will discourage future innovation and investment in interoperable messaging services. We also fear these types of tactics may more broadly chill future investment and innovation from those that seek to compete with existing digital gatekeepers. Thus, we refer this matter to the Antitrust Division to investigate whether this potentially anticompetitive conduct by Apple violated the antitrust laws.

Sincerely,

Amy Klobuchar, United States Senator

Mike Lee, United States Senator

Jerrold Nafler, United States Representative

This holiday-shortened week will be condensed further by my travel to Barcelona for MWC starting Friday afternoon. This will be my tenth in-person edition of the trade show formerly known as Mobile World Congress, but this trip will bring one first-time ingredient for me: I’m moderating a panel on information-security issues at the MWC setup of a new nonprofit tech-policy publication called…

Apple’s Messages icon A few days after the Beeper Mini app launched a way for users to send blue-bubble iMessages directly from their Android iPhone knockoffs, Apple shut down the app’s access to its iMessage messaging service, citing security risks. Now, four U.S. lawmakers think, and we use that term loosely, that Apple’s blocking Beeper Mini’s hack into their secure messaging service is…

Apple đã có những phản hồi chính thức về cuộc tranh cãi Beeper Mini, xác nhận nhận đã chặn ứng dụng này truy cập vào iMessage.

Việc ngăn chặn Beeper Mini truy cập vào iMessage đã kéo theo làn sóng tạo áp lực lên Apple, buộc ông lớn này phải lên tiếng xác nhận đã cắt quyền truy cập của ứng dụng này với lý do "rủi ro đáng kể đối với bảo mật và quyền riêng tư của người dùng".

Beeper Mini là ứng dụng cho phép người dùng Android có thể chat trực tiếp với iPhone thông qua iMessage. Nên nhớ, iMessage là ứng dụng độc quyền trên iPhone và Apple luôn nâng cao yếu tố bảo mật tin nhắn của người dùng trên nền tảng này.

Tuy nhiên, nhận thấy yếu tố bảo mật bị ảnh hưởng, CEO của Beeper xác nhận trên X rằng Apple đã chặn ứng dụng Beeper Mini.

Apple giải thích thêm về sự việc này: "Chúng tôi đã thực hiện các bước để bảo vệ người dùng của mình, bằng cách chặn các kỹ thuật khai thác thông tin đăng nhập giả mạo đang tìm cách truy cập vào iMessage". Ngoài ra, đại diện Apple còn nói thêm với những rủi ro đó, bao gồm tiếp xúc với siêu dữ liệu, tin nhắn không mong muốn, spam và các cuộc tấn công lừa đảo.

Phía Beeper cũng lên tiếng rằng họ sẵn sàng làm việc với bên thứ 3 để đánh giá tính bảo mật dữ liệu của họ. Tuy nhiên, Apple chưa có thêm động thái phản hồi sau quyết định này.

Tác giả: nhuyhuynh | Minh Tuấn Mobile

A few days after the Beeper Mini app launched a way for users to send blue-bubble iMessages directly from their Android iPhone knockoffs, Apple shut down the app’s access to its iMessage messaging service, citing security risks. David Pierce for The Verge: ‎ Apple senior PR manager Nadine Haija said in a statement… At Apple, we build our products and services with industry-leading privacy and…