Android AI – Apple aligns with Google against EU draft DMA rules demanding equal Android access for competing AI assistants and data sharing.
A major standoff over how competing AI assistants should work on mobile devices is pulling Apple and Google into the same corner, just as the EU pushes for wider access to Android under its Digital Markets Act.
The European Commission has moved to enforce the DMA by ordering Google to open up Android capabilities used by its own AI assistant. Gemini. so that third-party AI services could get the same level of access.. The reported aim is to reduce barriers for rivals in what regulators describe as a fast-moving AI market on smart phones. where access to core mobile functions can determine which assistants can actually compete.
In January. the Commission told Google it must extend similar Android access to external AI assistants and also provide rival search engines with access to Google Search data in an anonymized form.. That includes “anonymized ranking, query, click and view” information tied to Google Search, according to the report.
The Commission’s reasoning is tied to competition goals: opening up Android for third-party AI providers. it said. would help keep the AI market open and spur innovation across the ecosystem of smart mobile devices.. In April. it followed up by releasing draft compliance measures spelling out what Google would need to do to satisfy the AI-related demands.
Google’s response to those draft rules argued the proposed changes would harm users rather than help them.. Its counsel said the measures would undermine what it called “critical privacy and security” for people in Europe and would also drive up costs.. Those concerns became the backdrop for Apple’s position as the EU invited comments on the draft.
Apple agreed with Google in its feedback to the Commission, according to the report.. It repeated the core warning that giving competing AI services complete access to Android would expose European users to privacy risks.. The concern. as described. is that such access could allow AI systems to interact with apps people use for everyday tasks such as sending emails. ordering food. or sharing photos.
The company also framed the EU proposals as raising risks that go beyond privacy.. It pointed to concerns around security and safety, along with potential threats to device integrity and performance.. The underlying issue. in Apple’s view. is that AI systems are still evolving. and their capabilities and behavior are not fully predictable.
Apple’s filing reportedly questioned the Commission’s approach and timing. arguing that the draft measures effectively replace judgment made by Google’s engineers with decisions based on a short drafting period.. It further suggested that the value available from the draft measures is largely tied to enabling “open and unfettered” access. a direction it said carries substantial dangers.
Apple also indicated it has a direct stake in the broader DMA effort. saying it has been affected by the rules and that it has been probed by the Commission as well.. The company has long opposed the DMA itself, particularly arguing that the act should be repealed.. It previously accused the EU executive body of using what it called “political delay tactics” to investigate and fine Apple after the shutdown of an alternative app store.
This case highlights how the DMA is evolving from competition rules around apps and platforms into a more far-reaching attempt to regulate access for AI features.. For users. the pressure is likely to land on whether the EU believes openness and equal access can be delivered without weakening privacy. security. and system stability on consumer devices.
For the wider AI market, the dispute is about who gets to build assistants that can act inside a phone.. If third-party providers are granted broad Android access and data-sharing pathways. they may be able to deliver more capable experiences. but regulators and companies are also weighing what that means for control. unpredictability. and the limits of user protection as AI capabilities change over time.
For Apple and Google, the alignment also signals how the competitive and compliance landscape can converge.. Even as the companies compete across services and devices. both appear to share a cautionary stance against the idea that the fastest route to AI competition is granting rivals deep access to core mobile functions and search-related data without tighter safeguards.
Apple Google EU DMA Android AI assistants data sharing privacy security