{"id":589182,"date":"2026-07-16T19:24:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T19:24:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/589182\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T19:24:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T19:24:24","slug":"google-is-better-at-playing-the-ai-regulations-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/589182\/","title":{"rendered":"Google is better at playing the AI regulations game"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, the European Union ordered Google<\/a> to give its AI rivals greater access to Android, the open-source operating system that powers billions of devices worldwide. The demand is hardly surprising<\/a>. It may look like a defeat on paper for Google, which has spent years resisting<\/a> exactly this kind of access, but it is a regulatory win. It\u2019s also a sign that Google may have outmaneuvered Apple by playing Brussels\u2019 regulatory game far more shrewdly.<\/p>\n

In one of two decisions<\/a> handed down on Thursday, the European Commission \u2014 the EU\u2019s executive arm and the principal enforcer of the bloc\u2019s competition rules \u2014 said Google must give rival AI assistants the same kind of system features and data access it grants Google\u2019s Gemini. The order stems from Europe\u2019s Digital Markets Act<\/a> (DMA), which requires dominant platforms designated as \u201cgatekeepers\u201d to give competitors access to certain systems and data comparable to what is available to their own services.<\/p>\n

Crucially, Google has until July 2027 to make those changes, giving it roughly a year to continue expanding Gemini, negotiate technical details with the EU, and shape how its rivals will eventually plug into Android. The company could also challenge the decision in court, though it has not commented publicly whether it plans to do so and declined to comment on the record when The Verge inquired.<\/p>\n

While Google has made it clear<\/a> it would rather not open its systems at all \u2014 arguing it risks compromising users\u2019 safety, security, and privacy \u2014 that yearlong runway compounds an already significant advantage. Gemini is already deeply integrated into Android and often ships preinstalled as the default AI assistant on many devices, giving Google more time to strengthen its position before rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic gain comparable levels of access.<\/p>\n

Google\u2019s strategy of shipping first and negotiating with regulators later stands in stark contrast to Apple\u2019s. When Apple announced<\/a> its long-awaited Siri AI assistant last month, it made a big point of saying the feature would not launch in Europe because of the DMA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As with Android, the Commission said Apple would need to give third-party assistants comparable access to key systems, features, and data to those of Siri AI. Apple argued that doing so \u201cwould be irresponsible\u201d and create unacceptable privacy and security risks. The company said it asked the Commission for 18 months to build a compliant version and introduce the required interoperability on a \u201cgradually rolling\u201d basis. The Commission rejected that proposal.<\/p>\n

Apple still has no public timeline for when, or even whether, it plans to bring Siri AI to the EU and did not respond to The Verge\u2019s request for comment. Google, meanwhile, just secured the very grace period for Gemini that Apple wanted for Siri AI: time to comply with the DMA while its AI assistant stays on the market.<\/p>\n

The contrast may partly reflect where each company\u2019s AI assistant stood when the DMA began shaping product decisions. Gemini has been the central pillar of Google\u2019s AI strategy for years and has been widely distributed across the company\u2019s product ecosystem, giving Google a strong incentive to stay in the market and figure out compliance with any laws later. Apple, meanwhile, unveiled its new Siri AI very recently and chose to withhold it from the EU, despite having had years to anticipate the DMA\u2019s requirements during the product\u2019s design.<\/p>\n

Apple also chose to turn Siri AI\u2019s absence into a political weapon, evidently hoping the court of public opinion would find in its favor and pressure Brussels to relax interoperability requirements. It did so publicly and repeatedly, taking the unusual step of dedicating part of its WWDC 2026 keynote<\/a> to explaining why Siri AI won\u2019t be coming to Europe, publishing a pointed blog post<\/a> titled \u201cDue to DMA, Siri AI delayed in EU for iOS 27 and iPadOS 27,\u201d and holding media briefings on the issue. It relayed news that China was missing out on Siri AI through a one-sentence footnote<\/a>. All of this served to cast Brussels, not Apple\u2019s product choices, as the reason for the delay.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also possible that the split is less significant behind the scenes than it appears in public. Google and Apple both vehemently oppose the DMA\u2019s interoperability demands, framing them as threats to privacy, security, and product integrity. The two companies have also worked together on integrating Gemini into Apple\u2019s AI products, including Siri AI, making it plausible that they have remained in contact while exploring different ways to fight the same set of restrictions.<\/p>\n

For now, though, the difference is stark. Google has a year to bring Android into compliance while continuing to expand Gemini. Brussels denied Apple this kind of runway, and who knows when Siri AI will reach the EU.<\/p>\n

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