The XMPP Standards Foundation (XSF) has publicly called on Meta to overhaul its messaging interoperability plan for WhatsApp and Messenger, arguing that the company’s current approach violates the spirit of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).
According to the Foundation, Meta’s proposal—built around proprietary APIs and controlled access—is not true interoperability. It’s lock-in under another name.
In an open letter they highlight a critical problem with Meta’s model: it requires third parties to individually contract with Meta and integrate through custom APIs, a setup that XSF warns is unscalable, legally burdensome, and technically fragile. In contrast, XMPP—a federated, open messaging protocol used since 1999—offers a decentralized model where services can connect without permission or custom arrangements.
XMPP avoids the scaling problems of bilateral bridges by allowing each service to federate through a shared, evolving standard. The Foundation explains their approach in a technical briefing that accompanies the letter. It further argues that XMPP’s design inherently supports privacy-respecting federation and gives users more control over how and where their data moves.
Meta, the letter notes, already has experience with the protocol: “WhatsApp was built on an XMPP-based server, and Meta has previously supported XMPP in Facebook Messenger.” Additionally, Meta is currently federating Threads using the ActivityPub protocol—suggesting, as the Foundation points out, that open systems are not outside the company’s reach.
Meta’s Political Strategy and Regulatory Tensions
While the XSF has gone public, Meta’s response to European regulators has played out behind closed doors. Mark Zuckerberg has appealed to former President Donald Trump and senior U.S. trade officials to frame the DMA as an economic threat. He has reportedly encouraged U.S. negotiators to push back on the EU during trade discussions, citing a February 2025 memorandum that labels European fines as “overseas extortion.”
This lobbying effort coincides with escalating scrutiny of Meta’s business practices in Europe. In late 2023, the company introduced a “pay or consent” model for its social platforms, requiring users to either pay a subscription or accept tracking for ads. Following criticism, the price dropped from €9.99 to €5.99 in November 2024, but regulators remained unconvinced.
In a March 2025 assessment, the European Commission found that the system “may not provide a real alternative in case users do not consent.” Meta faces the possibility of fines reaching $1 billion. Yet the EU is considering reducing the penalties to avoid diplomatic fallout with Washington.
Apple, Meta, and the Interoperability Standoff
Interoperability isn’t just a flashpoint for regulators—it’s also fueling a feud between Meta and Apple. Since 2024, Meta has filed 15 requests with Apple under the DMA, seeking access to iOS functions such as push notifications, authentication systems, file-sharing services, and NFC payments for WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. Apple has resisted, citing privacy and security concerns.
Apple warned that complying with Meta’s requests could enable the company to “read on a user’s device all of their messages and emails, see every phone call they make or receive, track every app that they use, scan all of their photos, look at their files and calendar events, log all of their passwords, and more.”
Meta, for its part, dismissed these objections. “Every time Apple is called out for its anticompetitive behavior, they defend themselves on privacy grounds that have no basis in reality,” a spokesperson responded.
Apple has since taken steps to comply with the DMA, including browser engine flexibility, sideloading, and support for third-party app stores via iOS 17.4. These changes helped the company avoid fines, but EU officials are still reviewing whether Apple’s measures meet the law’s requirements for interoperability.
Protocol vs Platform: The Case for XMPP
Against this backdrop of bilateral legal disputes and technical wrangling, the XMPP Foundation is positioning its protocol as a more neutral, scalable, and privacy-aligned alternative. Unlike proprietary bridges that must be customized for each provider, XMPP enables real-time communication through a standardized federation model—one that mirrors how email works globally.
The Foundation argues that this model would reduce integration complexity, avoid vendor lock-in, and empower users to move between platforms without losing functionality. It also asserts that open federation better aligns with the DMA’s objectives: competition, choice, and interoperability on equal footing.
To that end, the group’s technical briefing details how XMPP meets the DMA’s Article 7 requirements for interoperability. The document outlines a phased rollout strategy, authentication architecture, spam mitigation systems, and the protocol’s capacity to support real-time presence updates, multimedia messaging, and end-to-end encryption.
“It’s time for real interoperability,” the letter concludes. “Let’s make it happen.”
Enforcement and Implementation: What Comes Next?
Under the DMA’s enforcement schedule, Meta was required to ensure that WhatsApp supported third-party interoperability by March 7, 2025. Messenger must follow by September 6. Meta has submitted reference offers outlining its compliance strategy, which are currently being evaluated by the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC).
Meta has begun rolling out limited interoperability features, including contact import functionality for users within the EU. But it remains unclear whether these measures will deliver full compatibility—or simply wrap Meta’s closed systems in the appearance of openness.
Meanwhile, the European Commission continues to invest in the infrastructure required to support digital enforcement. In March it approved €1.3 billion in funding for AI, cybersecurity, and messaging infrastructure designed to align with regulatory goals like the DMA and AI Act.
Across the Atlantic, the U.S. government has also taken a stance. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Trade Representative recently called the EU’s tech rules a “trade barrier,” raising the possibility of retaliation if enforcement escalates.
In that increasingly tense atmosphere, the XMPP Foundation is betting on simplicity, openness, and historical precedent. If its proposal gains traction, the next generation of interoperable messaging in Europe may not come from new technology—but from a standard that’s been waiting in the wings for decades.
