The EU has ordered Google to open up Android and Search to rivals, including other AI assistants, a move Google says poses privacy and security risks.
According to coverage from The Verge, Brussels issued two major decisions that affect how competing services can access Android and use data generated by Google Search. The rulings stem from the EU’s gatekeeper rules and aim to increase competition by giving alternative providers more direct access to platform capabilities and search-derived data.
Under the first decision, Google must begin sharing Search data by January 2027. As a designated “gatekeeper,” Google would be required to provide search information not only to other search engines and services, but also to AI chatbots and assistant platforms. That means companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, and similar AI developers could request access to certain search outputs to power their own services, subject to compliance and technical rules set by regulators.
The second decision targets Android. The EU is demanding that Google allow other AI assistants the same level of access to Android that Google’s own assistant, Gemini, currently enjoys as a pre-installed system app. Gemini benefits from deep integration: it can interact with other apps, access device hardware, and run continuous background listening through features like a wake-word listener. Third-party assistants can approximate some of these capabilities, but they typically face limitations compared with pre-installed system apps. The EU ruling intends to level that playing field by requiring equivalent access for competing assistants.
Google has publicly pushed back against both decisions. In a response published on its company blog, the company said the EU measures could undermine essential privacy and security protections for millions of Europeans. Google emphasized that Android’s current model involves phone makers and platform controls that help vet and secure system-level apps, and that granting broad device permissions to external apps without the same safeguards could weaken security.
The reality is that AI assistants already safely access Android’s capabilities, with phone makers playing a key role in vetting them. This Android ruling threatens device security by granting external apps sensitive and powerful device permissions without these safeguards. This is occurring as the EU’s own cybersecurity agency warns that “security fundamentals matter more than ever in the age of AI”.
Of particular concern, Europeans’ private searches would be exposed to unfamiliar companies, without adequate anonymisation of the data and without user knowledge or consent. This would weaken citizens’ privacy, risk business trade secrets, and endanger national security.
Google’s core argument focuses on three main risks: potential exposure of private search queries to new parties, the difficulty of ensuring comparable anonymization and consent mechanisms across many recipients, and the risk that device-level permissions could be misused if given to externally managed apps without rigorous vetting. Regulators, by contrast, say the rules are meant to foster competition and prevent a single vendor from locking users into its own assistant and search ecosystem.
The timetable is now set: Google must implement changes to Search and data-sharing processes by January 2027, while required adjustments to Android’s treatment of third-party assistants must be completed by July 2027. Both deadlines give Google time to design compliance mechanisms and to negotiate technical approaches with regulators and industry partners.
These decisions are likely to reshape the landscape for AI assistants, mobile platforms, and search services in Europe. If enforced as written, more AI developers could integrate search-derived information and deeper Android integrations into their products, potentially creating richer experiences for users but also prompting intense debate on privacy, security, and the scope of regulatory oversight.
More on Google:
- Google’s parent company, Alphabet, is being added to the Dow Jones stock index
- Google sues a cybercrime network that used Gemini in financial scams
- Google announces a $1.5 billion Alabama data center expansion and says it will cover energy costs
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