Google Fights EU Attempt to Prise Open Android to Rival AI Bots

Google is contesting an attempt by the European Union to make it open up its Android operating system to artificial-intelligence rivals and give search data to competing providers.

The Alphabet Inc. unit said Tuesday it’s appealing the European Commission’s move under the Digital Markets Act at the bloc’s General Court in Luxembourg because it would hamper users’ security.

“People use Search for their most personal questions — from medical worries to close relationships — and mandating we share these personal queries without adequate safeguards would cause irreversible harm to user privacy,” said Oliver Bethell, senior director for competition at Google.

The majority of the EU’s DMA decisions have so far been appealed in court as Big Tech firms look for clarity on the law’s application. The regulation led to a $1 billion fine for Google in a separate case. The DMA has also riled US President Trump’s administration, which views it as discriminatory against American firms.

In July, the commission told Google it must allow users to activate their preferred AI assistant via voice commands within 12 months. Regulators also said that by January 2027 third-party search engines should have the same access to search data that currently only Google Search can collect at scale — particularly from AI chat bots.

While a step short of a formal infringement case, the procedure aimed to put pressure on Google to re-engineer its services in order to bring their technologies in line with the DMA, which lays out a raft of guardrails to keep Silicon Valley giants in check.