The European Commission on Thursday authorized Google to give its rivals more access to AI capabilities in Android phones and search data, saying increased openness is needed to level the playing field in those areas.
This decision comes from the European Union Digital Markets Actdesigned to ensure that powerful technology companies, such as Google and Apple, cannot unduly dominate markets with their size and storage capacity. In this case, the act requires Google to give third-party apps and services the same level of access to its software as it does to its services.
“With today’s measures, we want to support the innovation and diversity of the European Union, which allows fair competition in the markets of AI assistants for Android devices and search engines,” said Henna Virkkunen, the Commission’s senior vice president for technology, security and democracy, in a statement. “Thanks to these measures we hope to see more emerging alternatives to Google Search and Google’s AI services, such as Gemini, and that users in the EU can enjoy a greater choice of services.”
Gemini AI it is not run from Google software and it is open Android devices. But AI assistants some companies have had limited access to important Android functions, which limits the types of services they can create and offer, putting them at an unfair disadvantage, according to the Commission. The new ruling will mean, for example, that third-party AIs can be activated with a voice command such as “Hey, Google” or can be entrusted with tasks such as booking a taxi, the Commission said.
The Commission noted that 60% of mobile phone users in the EU have an Android device.
Thursday’s decision also requires Google to share its search data with third-party search engines and AI chatbots that provide search functionality. That includes data that Google uses to optimize its search engine. The commission said this requirement is essential to the development and improvement of third-party search engines, including some that focus on privacy.
Google will also have to provide the data at a fair price and in a transparent process, the Commission said.
Google’s answer
In its response to the decision, Google went into what it said were risks DMA-driven changes could pose to users.
“Today’s decisions risk undermining important privacy and protection laws for millions of Europeans,” wrote Kent Walker, president of global affairs for Google and parent company Alphabet, in a blog post. “We have repeatedly provided solutions to protect users while satisfying the DMA’s objectives, but these protocols reduce the evidence of user harm.”
In an email to CNET, a Google spokesperson reiterated the company’s privacy concerns and noted that the alternatives it has proposed will ensure, for example, that data related to queries are transferred to recipients while providing better personal data protection. Google also suggested that the anonymity be done by technical and legal experts, but said that the EC had rejected this proposal.
Google also said that AI agents are already selective, but ultimately, phone makers play a bigger role in protecting users by screening apps that may have program-level permissions and access to your data. It said phone makers provide that access, not Google.
Apple last month said that due to the decision of the DMA, the access of its youth Siri AI will not be available to users in the EU if iOS 27 again iPadOS 27 will be released later this year.
Under Thursday’s ruling, Google must begin sharing data with search providers in January 2027 and make Android’s changes effective from July 2027.
