European Union regulators have ordered Alphabet’s Google to provide greater access to key Android smartphone features and certain search-related data to competing artificial intelligence providers, marking one of the bloc’s most significant interventions yet in the emerging AI market.
The European Commission on Thursday issued binding measures under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), requiring Google to enable rival AI assistants to interact more deeply with Android devices and to make portions of its search data available to competitors, including AI developers and search engines. European officials said the measures are intended to prevent large technology platforms from using their control over digital ecosystems to disadvantage competing services.
According to The New York Times, which first reported the decision, the new requirements could allow competing AI assistants to gain access to smartphone capabilities that have traditionally been more closely integrated with Google’s own services, including Gemini and Google Assistant.
EU officials said third-party AI applications should be able to perform functions comparable to Google’s own offerings, such as responding to voice commands, interacting with apps and carrying out tasks on behalf of users. The Commission has argued that current restrictions prevent rival services from competing on equal terms within the Android ecosystem.
“Thanks to these measures, we hope to see emerging alternatives to Google Search and Google’s AI services,” Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission’s executive vice president responsible for technology policy, said in a statement. EU officials said the measures are designed to increase consumer choice and encourage innovation among smaller technology firms.
Google criticized the decision, arguing that broader access requirements could create privacy and cybersecurity risks. Kent Walker, the company’s president of global affairs, said in a statement that mandatory data-sharing rules could expose sensitive information and potentially undermine device security. The company has maintained that deeper system access for third-party AI services should be subject to safeguards and risk assessments.
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The Commission said Google will retain the ability to evaluate whether particular third-party services pose legitimate security or privacy concerns before granting access, and regulators indicated that only qualified entities would be permitted to use the new interoperability provisions.
The measures represent another step in the EU’s broader effort to address concerns about market concentration among major technology companies designated as “gatekeepers” under the Digital Markets Act. The law, which took effect in 2023, empowers European regulators to impose behavioral obligations on companies that control critical digital platforms, including app stores, search engines and operating systems. Noncompliance can result in penalties of up to 10% of a company’s global annual revenue.
Competition concerns surrounding Android have persisted for years. The European Commission previously fined Google billions of euros over practices related to Android licensing and mobile search distribution, concluding that the company had used its dominant position in mobile software to reinforce its search business. The new AI-related measures suggest regulators are increasingly concerned that similar dynamics could emerge in the rapidly expanding market for generative AI services.
The decision also comes amid broader antitrust pressure on Google’s mobile ecosystem outside Europe. In the United States, courts have recently required changes that could permit greater access for rival app stores on Android devices following litigation involving Epic Games and Google. Those remedies are expected to increase competition in app distribution and reduce Google’s control over the Android marketplace.
The European Commission has indicated that Google must begin sharing certain anonymized search-related data with competitors beginning in January 2027, while requirements concerning Android interoperability are expected to be implemented by July 2027. Regulators said additional technical guidance could be issued as implementation proceeds.
According to The New York Times report, the Commission’s action reflects growing concern among policymakers that control over operating systems, search infrastructure and user data could allow incumbent technology companies to dominate the next generation of AI services. EU officials said the measures are intended to ensure that emerging AI competitors have a meaningful opportunity to reach users and develop alternative products within the digital marketplace.
Google has not indicated whether it will challenge the Commission’s directives, but the company has continued to argue that regulatory requirements should balance competition objectives with privacy, security and intellectual property protections.
Source: The New York Times
