EU orders Google to give AI rivals more access to Android Smartphones!

The NewYorkTimes.com reported that “Google was ordered by European Union regulators on Thursday to lift restrictions that limit how rival A.I. companies can reach users of Android smartphones, a sign of increased government scrutiny of the booming business of artificial intelligence.”  The July 16, 2026 article entitled " Google Ordered to Give A.I. Rivals More Access on Android Smartphones” (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/technology/google-android-ai.html) included these comments from Reporter Adam Satariano:

The decision is a response to fears that Google will leverage the enormous user base of Android, which powers about 60 percent of all smartphones in the European Union, to gain an edge in the growing A.I. market and undercut competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic.

As the daily use of artificial intelligence grows across society, an emerging commercial battleground is how to reach users through their smartphones. A.I. companies believe that the more deeply an A.I. service is integrated into a person’s hand-held device — including email, photos and other apps — the more a chatbot can serve as a personal assistant. Think of asking a chatbot to order a car service, suggest a response to a text message or provide information about a recently visited location.

Google and Apple are seen as having a major advantage because the companies make the world’s most used smartphone software, allowing them to set the rules for app developers trying to reach mobile users.

On Thursday, E.U. regulators said the company would be required to give rival A.I. services “equal footing,” including through voice commands and the ability to delegate actions in apps. The decision is binding, and Google is required to carry out the changes by next July.

Google was also ordered to begin sharing anonymized search engine data with rivals, including makers of A.I. chatbots, by January, in an attempt to create more competition.

Google did not say if it planned to challenge the decisions in court. The company said European regulators risked creating new security and privacy vulnerabilities because outside developers would get access to sensitive information kept on a person’s smartphone or search history.

“Today’s decisions risk undermining vital privacy and security guardrails for millions of Europeans,” Kent Walker, Google’s general counsel, said in a statement.

No surprises here for Google!