EC Presses Google on Android AI Interoperability

The European Commission gave Google six months to lift technical restrictions on Android. The changes should make the operating system interoperable with competing AI software and provide its rivals with access to vital search data.

The Digital Markets Act requires Google to provide third-party developers with free and effective interoperability with hardware and software features controlled by Android. The first demand focuses on features used by Google’s own AI services, including Gemini.

The EC intends to specify how Google should grant third-party AI services equally effective access to the same features as those available on the company’s own offerings. By doing so, it aims to ensure third-party providers have an equal opportunity to innovate and compete in the rapidly evolving AI landscape on smart mobile devices.

Second, the EC wants third-party providers of online search engines to be granted access to anonymised, ranking, query, click, and view data held by Google Search on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms. The EC’s demand focuses on the scope of data, conditions of access, and eligibility of AI chatbot providers to access the data. It stated that allowing access to a useful dataset would mean third-party online search engines can optimize their services and offer users genuine alternatives to Google search.

The EC’s actions do not represent a formal probe, but the regulator is expecting compliance within six months, or the company could face fines. Teresa Ribera, EVP for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition at EC, said AI tools are transforming the way users seek and receive information on smartphones. “We want to maximize the potential and the benefits of this profound technological shift by making sure the playing field is open and fair, not tilted in favour of the largest few.”