Apple Argues iMessage Isn't Popular Enough in the EU to Be Regulated

As an European I can only agree with that.

Does Apple need to spend effort every single time Google launches and kills another chat service?

What are you talking about? RCS is an open protocol, and not "another Google service"

You’re both correct.

RCS is open.

The RCS implementation that Google uses has Google specific extensions that they don’t allow every manufacturer to use (not every Android messaging app or device can have googles RCS) and requires use of Googles own servers.

It’s important to specify which implementation of RCS one is talking about, because it can vary even among carriers. Which is one reason it hasn’t caught on.

It's an open protocol where Google runs the servers for the vast majority. I'm sure Google would accept RCS with the relay operated by Apple.. Not to mention the Google extensions that only provide E2E if using the official Google app. The single reason for Google complaining is that they can't spy on messages between iPhone devices.

Seems like that really strikes at the heart of the matter.