The EU just ordered Google to open up Android to rival AI assistants and share its search data

[NeutrinoX]

The European Union ordered Google on Thursday to share search data with rival search engines and open its Android operating system to competing AI services, the latest move under its Digital Markets Act to curb Big Tech's dominance. Android phone users will be able to activate their preferred AI chatbot using voice commands, the same way they currently trigger Hey Google, once the changes take effect

The Commission is opening up 11 specific Android features to AI rivals so they can better compete with Google's own Gemini assistant, letting a third party AI handle tasks like booking a restaurant or searching for information through background app access. Google will only be required to offer these features to rivals that meet the EU's security and privacy criteria, and Brussels says the anonymisation of any shared search data was carefully built into the design specifically to limit the privacy fallout

Google pushed back hard, with global affairs president Kent Walker warning the measures introduce unprecedented risks to user privacy, device security and even national security, arguing AI assistants already have Android access today and that sharing search data would expose Europeans' private searches to unfamiliar companies without adequate anonymisation or user consent. EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen countered that the goal is simply to help alternatives to Google Search and Gemini finally emerge so European users get genuinely more choice

The timeline gives Google real runway, search data sharing with rivals starts in January 2027, and the Android changes arrive for users in July 2027 with the next Android release. The measures are legally binding under a procedure launched back in January, though they aren't part of a formal investigation that could lead to fines directly, Google could still face further separate action, and sources told AFP the company may be hit with a fine as soon as next week in an unrelated ongoing DMA investigation. The order lands as the Trump administration continues to publicly accuse Brussels of unfairly targeting American companies through the DMA, a tension that shows no sign of cooling anytime soon

EU orders Google to open Android to rival AI serviceswww.euronews.com

[SilverSurfer]

Being able to say Hey Siri or whatever wake phrase for a rival assistant on an Android phone instead of being locked into Hey Google is exactly the kind of consumer choice this regulation is aiming for