MANY MINDEDEU orders Google to open Android AI and share search data
The European Commission has announced new Digital Markets Act measures requiring Google to open up two of its core products. On Android, Google must allow competing AI assistants deeper integration, ending the effective default status of its own Gemini, which is preloaded and tied to the Hey Google hot word. The Commission says third-party assistants are currently limited, affecting the 60% of EU users on Android devices.
On search, Google must share its search data with competing search providers transparently and for a reasonable fee, and must treat AI chatbots as search services for the purposes of that sharing. The data must be anonymized through a multilayered approach. The deadlines are concrete: search-data sharing by January 2027, and the Android AI integration by July 2027. Because Google is a designated gatekeeper under the DMA, which came into force in 2024, the measures are legally binding.
Search data and default placement are among the deepest moats in the digital commons. Forcing access to both lowers the barrier for smaller search engines and AI assistants that could never accumulate that data on their own, which is how a more open, competitive information layer becomes possible.
Google disputes the move. President of global affairs Kent Walker argued the decisions risk undermining privacy and security guardrails, and Google claims the rules threaten trade secrets and national security. The Commission says it is open to amending its decision on handling identifiable data. Implementation details are still being worked out, so watch how anonymization and access are defined in practice.
Source: Ars Technica