Google Faces New EU Pressure to Give AI Rivals Android Access

The European Commission is preparing to outline steps it wants Google to take to allow competitors’ artificial intelligence (AI) assistants to access features in the operating system of Android handsets, Bloomberg reported Thursday (April 23), citing unnamed sources.

The demands will be part of the Commission’s effort to get the tech giant to allow other AI assistants to use the same voice activation, search tools and other Android features that Google’s own Gemini assistant uses, according to the report.

If Google does not comply with the demands when they are issued, the company could face a formal European Union probe that could result in financial penalties, the report said.

When the EU announced in January that it was launching an effort to pressure Google to remove barriers to other AI assistants, the company said it was concerned that such a move could “compromise user privacy, security and innovation,” per the report.

In the January announcement, the European Commission said it opened two formal specification proceedings aimed at clarifying how Google must meet key obligations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The Commission said the move is intended to guide the company in adjusting its business practices while ensuring that competitors are able to operate on equal terms within the digital marketplace.

One of those cases focuses on Google’s duties under the DMA to offer free and effective interoperability to third-party developers for hardware and software features managed through its Android operating system, the Commission said, adding that the current discussions center on technical functions used by Google’s own AI tools.

The Commission said in the January announcement that it expected to send Google its preliminary findings and outline proposed measures intended to ensure compliance with the DMA within three months and then complete the proceedings within six months.

In another, separate case, the European Commission announced April 16 that it released proposed measures it wants Google to implement to make its data available to rival search engines. The Commission said that its goal is to enable third-party search engines to optimize their search services and contest Google’s position in the search market.