Europe’s antitrust regulator has ordered Google to remove all restrictions in its Android operating system that limit competitors from building Gemini rival products. The watchdog has also told the Silicon Valley giant to share search data with rival search engines.
The matter has been the source of a multi-year disagreement between the tech giant and the European Union regulator, with the former focused on protecting its business while the latter insists on an even playing field for all rivals.
The first specification measures are designed to make sure that rival AI companies can compete with Google’s AI services (such as Gemini) via Android devices. Meanwhile, the second specification measures are aimed at giving third-party search engines access to search data that only Google Search could collect at scale.
According to the regulator, Google is to start sharing search data with eligible search engine providers from January 2027, while users may see changes in their Android experience as of July 2027.
“The aim of these measures is to allow companies to be able to offer European users a wider and more feature-rich range of options to choose from, both when it comes to their AI services on Android and to search services,” stated the European Commission in a press release on July 16.
Google has consistently opposed these proposed measures, with legal counsel Kent Walker claiming that the latest decisions by the regulator “risk undermining vital privacy and security guardrails for millions of Europeans,” per a Reuters report.
The European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) is a landmark piece of legislation designed to ensure fair markets in the digital/online sector, with large firms designated as gatekeepers to be regulated.
“With today’s measures, we want to support innovation and diversity in the European Union, enabling fair competition in the markets of AI assistant for Android devices and search engines. Thanks to these measures we hope to see emerging alternatives to Google Search and Google’s AI services, such as Gemini, and that users in the EU can enjoy greater choice of services. All developers, large and small, are welcome to explore these new opportunities, which will certainly benefit users too,” said Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, in a press release.
Published - July 17, 2026 02:09 pm IST