The EU has ordered Google to crack open Android and Search to its rivals including other AI assistants, but Google warns that it’s a privacy risk.
As noted by The Verge, the EU has handed down two decisions today that affect how other brands – particularly those competing with Google – can access Android and use data from Google Search.
Google has until January 2027 to start sharing Search data. Google, as a “gatekeeper,” would be required to share Seatch data with not only other search companies/services, but also AI chatbots, the EU has now added. This would include the likes of OpenAI and Microsoft, among others.
The other part of this is Android, where the EU is demanding that Google open up the same level of access to other AI assistants – ChatGPT, Claude, etc – as Gemini currently gets. As a pre-installed system app, Gemini has far more access to Android than third-party offerings, including the ability to interact with other apps, control hardware on the phone, and run its “Hey Google” background listening all of the time. There are many ways for third-party apps to implement features on this level, but it doesn’t work quite as well as it does for something with the same level of access as Gemini.
Google disagrees with the EU’s decisions. Specifically, the company argues that the decisions “risk undermining vital privacy and security guardrails for millions of Europeans.”
Google, in a public response on The Keyword, explains:
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.
As it stands, Google has until January 2027 to make needed changes to Search and data sharing, while changes in Android have until July 2027.
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