Google must share search data, open up Android to rival AI firms, says EU – National
The European Union issued two new rules for Google on Thursday to force it to share search data and open up its Android operating system to rival AI companies.
In the latest attempt to tighten control over the technology behemoths of the digital economy, the EU has said it will support innovation and diversity in the sector by enabling fair access to AI features on Android devices and search engines.
“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,” said Henna Virkkunen, vice president of the European Commission in charge of technology.
The move is the latest development in Brussels’ growing rules and regulations that have given the 27-nation bloc a global leadership position in checking the power of tech juggernauts or “gatekeepers” like TikTok, which are based largely in China and the US.
Recently, Brussels has continued efforts to ensure that Google provides access to Gemini AI services to anti-AI companies and search engines; forced Apple to add interoperability features to its devices to connect to non-Apple products; and demanded that Meta release “key addictive features” such as infinite scrolling.
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Kent Walker, president of global affairs for Google and parent company Alphabet, said the new rules could have a positive effect by removing safeguards the company has built to protect users’ privacy, such as testing third-party AI assistants.
“Private searches of Europeans will be exposed to unusual companies, without sufficient anonymization of data and without user information or consent. This will weaken the privacy of citizens, jeopardize commercial business secrets, and endanger national security,” he said in a statement.
US President Donald Trump has criticized EU technology regulation in the past.
In issuing the new rules, the commission said it found that AI agents not made by Google could not work on Android phones of the same standard as Google Gemini.
Google must now allow voice activation of these unique AI agents and empower them to perform background tasks such as restaurant reservations through third-party apps.
By January 2027, Google must also start sharing anonymous search data with other competitors. The commission said the move is aimed at leveling the playing field as Google controls vast amounts of user data that no competitor can match.
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