In today's ExchangeWire news digest: Facebook contemplates taking Apple to court, accusing the iPhone-maker of anticompetitive behaviour; Telegram reveals a new update that includes allowing users to import conversations from other apps; and the CMA launches a formal investigation into Facebook's planned acquisition of Giphy.

Facebook contemplates taking Apple to court

Social media behemoth Facebook has reportedly been weighing up a lawsuit against Apple. The prospective action is understood to be based on the accusation that Apple deliberately misused their dominant position in the smartphone market by making their own apps exempt from their App Store rules.

The iPhone maker has come under significant fire for forcing app developers to abide by their App Store policies. One such policy is the compulsory use of the App Store’s own payment system, which gives Apple up to 30% of the revenue from all in-app transactions. This rule culminated in a lawsuit from Epic Games, whose prize title Fortnite was banned from the App Store for implementing an alternative payment system.

Unlike Epic and most other developers, however, Facebook’s concern stretches beyond Apple’s app policies. CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly told investors at a quarterly earnings’ call last Wednesday (27^th January) that the platform “increasingly see Apple as one of our biggest competitors”, warning that he expects “very significant competitive overlap” of the two companies’ key product areas, including augmented reality glasses and private messaging. There’s also the matter of Apple’s impending iOS 14 update, which is expected to do significant damage to Facebook’s mobile advertising business.

If the matter does end up in court, it will see the feud between the two tech giants evolve into a battle between privacy and competition.

Telegram allows users to transfer conversations from other apps

Telegram has unveiled a new feature that allows users to import their conversations from other messaging services. The move comes after the app saw user numbers skyrocket as consumers left Facebook-owned WhatsApp over privacy concerns.

Now, Telegram converts can move their conversations from WhatsApp – as well as fellow chat services from Line and KakaoTalk – to their new messaging platform of choice so that they can pick up their chats where they left off. Users also needn’t worry about their old messages taking up space as Telegram can store conversations and media in the cloud, according to the app.

The feature, which comes as part of a wider update that includes improved audio and new animations, should convince any users who have held onto WhatsApp for the sake of keeping their conversation histories alive to move over to the rising star of the instant messaging space. The move is another blow for once mighty WhatsApp, which has lost hundreds of thousands of users to their privacy-centric competitor. Having already postponed implementing the new privacy policy that sparked this mass exodus, it will be interesting to see whether how WhatsApp will respond to this latest development.

Facebook’s Giphy takeover faces CMA investigation

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has officially launched an investigation into Facebook’s acquisition of Giphy. The social media giant announced plans to fold the popular gif-maker and search engine into sister-platform Instagram last year in a deal valued at. Around USD $400m (£321m).

The UK watchdog had forced Facebook to halt the deal last June by issuing an initial enforcement barring the merger from going ahead until an investigation had been completed. Last Thursday (28^th January), the body announced that it has now launched an initial inquiry, and has until 25^th March to conclude whether the deal requires an in-depth probe.

Facebook fought against the enforcement, but saw their appeal rejected by a tribunal last November. Chief executive of the CMA, Andrea Coscelli, said at the time of the ruling, that “Initial enforcement orders are an essential part of the CMA’s merger toolkit, enabling it to protect both market competition and consumers as it undertakes merger reviews.”

The authority is expected to examine whether the prospective acquisition risks harming competition by giving Giphy a leg up in the imaging space. The investigation is only the latest in a string of probes into allegations that Facebook (and other tech leaders) use anticompetitive tactics to get a leg up over their rivals.