EU tells Google to open Android to rivals

Android is turning into the next AI battleground — and the EU just stepped in. The basic complaint is simple: Gemini can do things on Android that rival a(digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu)opean Commission told Google, in draft form, that this gap has to close. (digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu)le to give third-party AI services effective access to key Android capabilities that are now mostly reserved for Google’s o(channelnewsasia.com) or sharing a photo — not just answer questions in a chat box. (digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu) ### Why does that matter so much? Because assistant competition is really platform competition in disguise. A model can be brilliant, but if it can’t set reminders, open the(digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu)mbing around it. (digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu) ### What kind of Android access are we talking about? The most telling detail is wake words. The Commission explicitly said competing AI services should be easily activated by users with their own cus(digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu)y to execute actions through apps, which is where assistant lock-in really starts. (digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu) ### Is this already a final ruling? Not yet. This is part of a DMA specification proceeding the Commission (digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu)ot the last word, but it is the clearest signal yet of where the EU wants Android to go. (digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu) ### What is Google saying back? Google is arguing that Android is already open and that phone makers have room to customize their own AI services. The company’s pushback is that forced access to(digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu)ument. (globalbankingandfinance.com) ### Why is the DMA showing up here? Because this is exactly what the Digital Markets Act is for. The law targets “gatekeepers” that control key digital platforms and can favor their own services. First it hit app stores, browsers, search, and defaults. Now the same logic is moving into AI assistants: if Android is the gateway, Google cannot keep the best doors for Gemini alone. (digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu) ### Is this bigger than Google? Yes — much bigger. EU regulators said this week that the DMA’s next frontier is cloud and AI services more broadly. They are already investigating whether Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure should be treated as gatekeepers under the same law. So the Android case looks like an early test run for how Europe plans to stop AI-era lock-in before it hardens. (channelnewsasia.com) ### Bottom line? The EU is trying to make sure Android doesn’t become “Gemini first, everyone else second” by default. If Brussels gets its way, the next phase of the AI race in Europe will be less about who has an app — and more about who gets equal access to the operating system underneath. (digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu)