EU tells Google to open Android

The European Commission told Google on April 27 to open key Android features so rival artificial intelligence assistants can work more like Gemini on phones and tablets. (ec.europa.eu) The draft measures say third-party AI services should be able to interact with apps on Android devices and carry out tasks such as sending an email, ordering food, or sharing a photo. (ec.europa.eu) Brussels also said users should be able to activate competing assistants with a custom wake word, instead of leaving that kind of deep integration largely to Google’s own tools. (ec.europa.eu) The case sits under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act, which lets regulators force designated “gatekeepers” to make important platform features interoperable with rivals. Google’s Android compliance proceeding was opened on January 27, 2026. (ec.europa.eu) This is not yet a final penalty decision. The Commission called the April 27 step “preliminary findings,” opened a public consultation, and gave interested parties until May 13, 2026 to respond. (ec.europa.eu) (usnews.com) Reuters reported the Commission plans to decide by the end of July whether Google’s Android setup complies with the law. Under the Digital Markets Act, violations can bring fines of up to 10% of a company’s annual global sales. (usnews.com) European Union antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said the proposal would give Android users more choice about which AI services they use and integrate into their phones. (usnews.com) Google said the Commission’s approach would “strip away” device makers’ autonomy, require access to sensitive hardware and permissions, and raise privacy, security, and cost risks for European users. The company’s response was attributed by Reuters to senior competition counsel Clare Kelly. (usnews.com) The Android move follows another April 2026 Commission action aimed at Google’s search business, where regulators proposed that Google share search data with rival search engines and eligible artificial intelligence services on fair terms. (ec.europa.eu) Taken together, the two cases show how the European Union is applying the same competition rulebook to the new artificial intelligence layer on top of Google’s search engine and mobile operating system. (ec.europa.eu 1) (ec.europa.eu 2)