The European Commission has ordered Google to open two of its greatest competitive advantages– Android’s access to rival AI assistants and the search data that feeds Gemini.
They are two binding measures under the Digital Markets Act (DMA)adopted on July 16. Android must be open by July 2027, search data by January 2027, and no resources are stopping those deadlines.
In detail. The first measure affects how a rival assistant can live inside Android. Right now, Gemini has privileges that no competitor shares:
- Keyword activation at the operating system level, not the application level.
- Access to the home button or navigation gesture as a gateway.
- Reading content on screen to respond with context.
- Executing tasks within other applications, such as sending an email or sharing a photo.
- Priority access to hardware and AI models built into the device.
There are 11 points in total. Starting with the next major version of Android, ChatGPT, Claude or any other attendee will be able to claim the same treatment that only they have today Gemini.
The second measure is the one that weighs the most for the business: the data of queries, clicks and results with which Google trains a good part of its LLM. From January 2027, rivals such as OpenAI will be able to access an anonymized version, under conditions that Brussels demands are fair and non-discriminatory. Google’s waterline.
Between the lines. Google completed a few months ago the transition from Google Assistant to Gemini as Android’s default assistant, just before Brussels opened the file. The order arrived with Gemini already installed as a part of the system and not as just another application.
Apple chose the opposite path: it negotiated before launching, proposed a monitored permit system and Brussels rejected it. Siri AI It still hasn’t reached the iPhone in the European Union. Google launched Gemini without asking permission and has discussed the conditions afterwards, with better results.
Yes, but. Google, like Apple, alleges security and privacy reasons. Its head of global affairs, Kent Walker, has explained that opening screen reading and the execution of tasks between applications to any external service bypasses the filter that the manufacturers themselves apply today before granting these permissions.
And now what. Google will appeal, but the appeal does not give it extra time: from the criteria established in the Apple case, the obligation is fulfilled while it is discussed whether it was legal to impose it.
The United Kingdom and Japan, which are preparing their own digital competency frameworks, are presumably taking note of how “fair access” to a mobile is defined here. What Brussels sets about wake words or search data prices will not remain only in Europe.
Featured image | Xataka
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