In a major regulatory blow to Silicon Valley’s digital dominance, the European Commission has issued two binding directives under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) ordering Google to share its coveted search database and deeply open its Android operating system to rival artificial intelligence developers, including OpenAI. Under the newly finalized rules, the tech giant must begin sharing anonymized, multi-layered search query data with eligible third-party search engines and search-capable AI chatbots starting in January 2027, providing competitors with the essential raw data needed to refine their own models. Furthermore, by July 2027, Google must open up eleven key Android system integrations to competing AI assistants on equal footing with its proprietary Gemini service, enabling EU users to launch third-party bots using system-level voice triggers similar to the “Hey Google” command and perform complex background actions across multiple apps. While the European Union’s technology chief, Henna Virkkunen, championed the landmark measures as a necessary step to foster genuine digital competition and dismantle monopolies, Google has strongly pushed back against the ruling. Kent Walker, Alphabet’s President of Global Affairs, warned that the sweeping data-sharing and system-access mandates present unprecedented risks to European user privacy and device security by potentially exposing sensitive user search queries and granting powerful system permissions to unfamiliar external software. Despite Google’s vocal security concerns, the European Commission insisted that the guidelines contain adequate safeguards—allowing Google to audit rivals for security compliance and charge a regulated fee for data access—cementing the EU’s proactive stance in regulating the fast-evolving artificial intelligence landscape.
China Daily HK+ 4