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EU Forces Google to Open Android and Share Search Data. Google Is Not Pleased.
The European Commission has announced new legally binding measures under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) that will require Google to open up Android to competing AI assistants and share search data with rival search providers. On Android, third-party AI platforms must be granted the same deep system access currently enjoyed by Google's Gemini, while on search, Google must share data transparently and for a reasonable fee, with AI chatbots also treated as search services. Google has strongly opposed the rulings, arguing they threaten user privacy and security, but must comply by set deadlines of January 2027 for search data sharing and July 2027 for Android AI integration.
EU tells Google to open up Android and share search data. Google is not pleased.
The EU has issued two specification decisions requiring Google to share search data with competitor search engines and allow third-party AI assistants greater access to Android devices, including voice activation and in-app actions currently reserved for Gemini. Google has pushed back, arguing the rulings threaten user privacy, device security, and data protection, while the European Commission maintains that robust safeguards — including anonymisation, audits, and data-use restrictions — are built into the requirements. Compliance deadlines are set for January and July 2027, though legal challenges make it likely the rules will be tied up in litigation well beyond those dates.
Brussels Tells Google to Share Android's Sensors With Rival AI — Whether It Likes It or Not
The EU has ordered Google, under the Digital Markets Act, to grant rival AI assistants the same access to Android features — including the microphone, camera, screen contents, and wake-word detection — that its own Gemini assistant already enjoys, with compliance required by August 2027. A separate ruling also compels Google to share anonymised Search query and ranking data with rival search engines and AI chatbots at a cost-based fee. Google has objected, arguing the measures threaten device security, but the final rules include tighter safeguards than an April draft following Google's consultation submissions, and the company must now publicly define the certification programme through which rivals will gain access.
EU's Highest Court Kills Google's Android Appeal. All €4.1 Billion of It.
Google has lost its final appeal against a landmark EU antitrust fine, and must now pay €4.1 billion ($4.7 billion) for abusing its dominant position by bundling Google Search and Chrome as defaults on Android devices. The Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed the appeal, leaving Google with no further legal options after the fine was slightly reduced from the original €4.34 billion in 2022. Despite the ruling's conclusion, the EU continues to pursue Big Tech regulation through the Digital Markets Act, with further scrutiny of Google's Android platform already underway.
Google's New Android Feature Catches AI Voice Clone Scams Before You Get Fooled
Google is rolling out a new Android security feature called "fake call detection" to combat AI-powered deepfake scam calls, available from June 2026 on Android 12 and later devices. The feature uses the RCS standard to send encrypted verification signals between devices when a call is made, alerting recipients with an on-screen warning if the signal is missing and the call cannot be authenticated — indicating a likely spoofed or AI-cloned impersonation attempt. The move comes amid growing impersonation fraud losses, with the FTC reporting $2.95 billion in US losses in 2024 alone and INTERPOL linking such fraud to over $440 billion in global losses.
Google Is Quietly Testing Whether You'll Ever Need the Play Store Again
Google has introduced a feature in AI Studio that allows users to generate simple Android apps directly from text prompts in the browser, potentially reducing demand for basic utility apps on the Play Store. This mirrors the broader "SaaSpocalypse" debate in enterprise software, where AI threatens to replace off-the-shelf tools by enabling users to create their own custom solutions on demand. While Apple restricts this kind of locally-run, AI-generated software for security reasons, Google is embracing the approach, simultaneously using Gemini to surface professional apps — effectively competing at both ends of the software market.