Will EU's Google ruling make AI better for all?

The European Commission ordered Google to share data with rival search engines and open Android to competing AI assistants under the Digital Markets Act, aiming to boost competition and user choice. Google criticized the ruling, warning it could undermine privacy and security. The changes take effect in July 2027.

The EU is forcing Google to play nice with its AI competitors. On Thursday, the European Commission https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip 26 1634 ordered the search giant to share data with other search engines and to open up the Android operating system to rival AI companies, taking sweeping measures to curb Google's dominance under the Digital Markets Act. The EU said the ruling is an attempt to increase competition and diversify AI innovation, as well as give users more choice. The first part of the decision opens 11 features on the Android OS to AI rivals, allowing them to better compete with Gemini. - For instance, users will now be able to activate competing AI assistants, such as those from OpenAI or Anthropic, via voice commands, similar to the "Hey Google" feature. - These features, however, will only be available to rivals that meet security and privacy requirements protecting users' data and device safety. The change will go into effect in July 2027 as part of the next iteration of Android. - In its announcement, the European Commission said that the closed Android OS limits how useful competing AI services can be, making it difficult for the 60% of EU users who have Android devices to actually benefit from them. The second aspect of the ruling compels Google to share data with competing search services, aiming to create a "more level playing field with Google Search." This means that AI chatbots offering search functionality are able to receive shared data. This data is subject to anonymization and allows Google to assess whether sharing certain data poses cybersecurity and data protection risks. Teresa Ribera, executive VP for clean, just and competitive transition at the commission, said in a statement that the decision will help smaller firms and AI services compete with tech giants and provide greater choice to users. "Society is going through a profound digital transformation," said Ribera. "We need to keep that process fair and ensure that our citizens have choice." Google, however, criticized the decisions, claiming that it risks undermining "vital privacy and security guardrails" for millions of European citizens, the company's lawyer Kent Walker told Reuters https://www.reuters.com/world/google-required-open-up-ai-search-engine-rivals-under-eu-mandated-changes-2026-07-16/ . "These rulings discount extensive evidence of user harm," he said. Our Deeper View The EU has long been among the most aggressive regulators in reining in tech giants. However, the strong regulatory environment they've created comes with a catch: Compared to the US and China, the region largely lags behind in homegrown AI innovation, adoption https://www.weforum.org/stories/emerging-technologies/europe-ai-adoption-lag/ and investment https://www.linkedin.com/posts/nicholasxthompson europe-has-produced-many-of-ais-leading-activity-7469123454911328256-Idxu/ . Though some US states could attempt similar legislation, such as California with the Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act, the US federal government is unlikely to follow Europe's lead. Nevertheless, EU regulations can often have downstream effects because tech companies don't like playing by two sets of rules. As a result, the adjustments they make to comply with European regulations can affect products globally. And in the best cases, such as universal USB-C adoption, it can have a positive impact for users. Forcing Android to give users a choice of their favorite AI, rather than Google Gemini always having preferred placement, could yield a similar result. Next, we have to wonder whether the EU will target Apple for similar AI dynamics now that Siri is about to become more capable and even more embedded on the iPhone.