Report from the Wall Street Journal
In Brief – EU antitrust regulators have announced extensive directives they plan to impose on Google to give AI developers full access to Android on phones and tablets in the same manner as Google’s own AI models and services such as Gemini. The proposed access rules are part of a Digital Market Act (DMA) regulatory process called a specification proceeding that was initiated by the European Commission in January and aims to finalize rules in July. The 31-page draft covers how rival AI services should enjoy integration with core Android features and apps in the same manner as Gemini, including any on-device AI models, hardware, voice activation and certain search tools, as well as the ability to integrate rival AI apps with other Google apps. Google criticized the EU proposal, saying Android has an open ecosystem enabling AI assistants to thrive and device makers to have full autonomy to customize their AI services, while the Commission’s rules would, “mandate access to sensitive hardware and device permissions; unnecessarily driving up costs while undermining critical privacy and security protections for European users.” Third parties have until May 13 to provide feedback to the Commission.
Context – Google already faces three investigations accusing it of violating the DMA. Then there are two “specification proceedings” to set new utility-style regulatory rules giving AI developers free interoperability with Android, and third-party search engines, including some AI chatbots, access to Google’s search data. Apple is two years into a DMA specification proceeding directing it on how to give peripherals competitors, such as for smart watches and headphones, full access to iPhone capabilities. Apple continues to strenuously object, arguing it harms user experience and threatens user privacy. The Commission’s antitrust authority appears focused on giving third-party AI developers unfettered access to the top platforms, including recently objecting to Meta’s plan to charge chatbots a per-message fee to operate over the WhatsApp platform, indicating that all AI chatbots should be given the same access as Meta’s own AI services.