It will also have to share research data with its competitors.
The European Union today ordered Google to open up more parts of Android to compete with AI applications. It’s a move driven by concerns that Google could use its dominant mobile operating system to eliminate competitors. For example, the EU claims that competing AI assistants have limited access to Android’s “key features” compared to Gemini. Therefore, “third-party AI assistants are therefore limited in the ways in which they can offer their innovative services.” When the required changes are made, it’s likely that Android users will enjoy a browser-like choice in the block. Once selected, they will be able to wake it up with voice commands, engaging the assistant of their choice in various agent actions.
But that’s not all, and the EU also insisted that Google share its data with third-party search engines. This includes enabling AI chatbots “eligible to receive shared data” and having Google “share the same data it collects to optimize its own search.” The rules insist that this data is anonymized and that the methods will be evaluated by an independent third party. These decisions are legally binding, and Google must begin sharing data with competitors by January 2027. The company has until July 2027 to do the same with Android, opening up various software features to the aforementioned rival AI apps.
Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs, wrote a response saying the decisions “risk undermining vital privacy and security safeguards for millions of Europeans.” Walker adds that the EU has turned a blind eye to its evidence of user harm, and that demands to further open Android will weaken device security. In a rare moment of collaboration, even Apple came to Google’s defense, saying earlier this year that such a move would cause a privacy nightmare. Additionally, he said the decision to force Google to share search data would “endanger national security.” It’s unclear whether Google will challenge the decisions, although we suspect it will, given the stark warnings issued here.
