EU Orders Google to Give Rival AI Apps the Same Android Access as Gemini

[Mr. Nice]

I hope google just does the same thing as apple. Pull the feature from the EU.

What ever became of the famous saying:

“Apple should leave the market”?
What happened to it?
😂

 

[DickieSmith]

To use a poker analogy:

Google called.
Apple folded.

Hard disagree.

To fold would be to cave to EU demands that they grant any AI service equal access to the platform.

Google and Apple are both still playing against the EU but with very different strategies.

 

[one more]

So, Google is given well over 18 months (since the integration of Gemini into Android in the EU) to open up Android and allow competitors the same OS access that Gemini has, but when Apple asks for the same treatment they’re told to take a hike by EU regulators? Wow.

Apple should sue.

Google and their customers are being rewarded because Google deliberately ignored the law. While Apple and their customers are being punished because Apple is following the law and making a fuss about it. Insane and unjust application of the law by the EU.

Yes, this is weird in principle, considering Google are allowed to keep it as is and keep the right of appeal during this time. The EC gave Google one year to comply and denied one year and a half (18 months) asked for by Apple.

 

[Ad47uk]

They're not trying to help EU citizens. They're trying to protect their non-existent alternative options.

What alternative options? As far as i know there is no EU Ai, granted they are trying to get an office suite to replace MS Office. There are also some online services based in Europe, |I use one myself for my domain.

 

[DickieSmith]

The EU parliament is elected by EU citizens just like any government parliament. EU laws are passed by the EU parliament. Saying that EU is not elected because it also employees non-elected people it’s like saying all governments are non-elected. All governments employ experts in different fields to actually design the laws and run government organizations. According to your (propaganda-driven?) logic then democracy doesn’t exist.

The European Parliament officially adopted the landmark Digital Markets Act (DMA) on July 5, 2022, in a landslide vote of 588 to 11

Members of the EU Parliament are not able to propose laws, they can only debate and vote on those laws proposed by an unelected commission. That is not "just like any government parliament".

 

[one more]

Hard disagree.

To fold would be to cave to EU demands that they grant any AI service equal access to the platform.

Google and Apple are both still playing against the EU but with very different strategies.

Google seem to have chosen a better strategy, though, as Android EU users will be able to use Gemini for a year and educate their LLM, while Apple users will be stuck waiting.

 

[one more]

What alternative options? As far as i know there is no EU Ai, granted they are trying to get an office suite to replace MS Office. There are also some online services based in Europe, |I use one myself for my domain.

There are some European AI players like Euria (Switzerland) and Mistral Vibe (France), but their number of users is obviously minuscule compared to both Gemini and Siri AI.

 

[DickieSmith]

Google seem to have chosen a better strategy, though, as Android EU users will be able to use Gemini for a year and educate their LLM, while Apple users will be stuck waiting.

Perhaps, but I can also envisage a lawsuit by Android users who have a feature they paid for removed in 12 months time. This gives Google additional pressure to cave to the EU in 12 months time if they want to avoid the lawsuit.

 

[Kriss_De_Valnor]

What if both Apple and Android pulled out of the EU. Let everyone there use Nokia flip phones that Brussels can regulate.

Or Ericsson 🤣

 

[Zwhaler]

T

agreed. My concern is that the EU is focusing on equal access without giving equal weight to accountability. Not every AI provider has the same privacy standards or security track record. If Android grants deep system access to third-party AI and that access is abused, users will still hold Google responsible because it's Google's platform. Interoperability is important, but so is ensuring the company responsible for the operating system can protect its users.

This is true. Google has a different incentive to keep their AI systems up to rigorous security standards. Google and Android’s reputation is on the line as the OS provider. A third party AI system can reap all of the benefits of Android’s immense user base and established reputation while cutting corners on data protection (or outright rug pulling / scamming people) because Google and Android will share some of that reputational hit. The third party AI systems would be a lot more careful with their security if they had to spend nearly twenty years building the entire deployment foundation from scratch.

 

[one more]

Perhaps, but I can also envisage a lawsuit by Android users who have a feature they paid for removed in 12 months time. This gives Google additional pressure to cave to the EU in 12 months time if they want to avoid the lawsuit.

Do they pay to use Gemini? I thought it was a part of the Google package, just as Siri for Apple.

 

[henkie]

the question is who is actually fighting for the consumer? Does anyone believe the EU is honestly trying to help EU citizens?

Yes: thanks USB-C. Thanks not paying extra when calling from Germany to Spain or using internet on my phone. Privacy laws are a lot stricter. But in the USA, companies are allowed to bulldozer their citizens,

 

[Mr. Nice]

It’s absurd the EU thinks that’s an acceptable requirement.

It’s absurd to think that users and governments would want something like Microsoft from the ’90s all over again.

Some users don’t see the big picture!

The EU wants to become more digitally independent, and things are slowly starting to move in a direction that I—and many other EU users—approve of.

I don’t trust the two big tech companies (apple & google) that for years wouldn’t allow files to be exchanged via an open standard like Bluetooth. 🥳

But I know, of course, that some people believe this fairy tale:

The market will take care of everything. *pinocchio*

If the big tech companies don't like it, they're welcome to leave the EU, Japan, Brazil... etc.
🤣

But options are slowly running out for the big tech companies worldwide.

 

[Ad47uk]

Google said the requirements "risk undermining vital privacy and security guardrails, LOL, they are kidding? Google would not know what privacy is if it hit their CEO between the eyes, because this what you get with American companies. Some are better than others. U.S.A and privacy, don't go in the same sentence.
This is why the E.U is trying to get data stored in Euruope.


I do agree that if people want to use this A.I rubbish then they should be able to use what one they want on any platform, the same with search. I can now use any search engine on my Android phone, but on my first Android phone that was not possible, Google Only.

I also believe that Ai. should be easy to disable on any platform, not muck around with different menus and other stuff just to disable it.

 

[NightfallOrchid]

Dear peoples of the EU ....

Please stop being so stupid as to think that the EU Commission operates on your behalf.

-

Dear peoples outside of the EU…

Please stop being so stupid as to think that all EU citizens agree with the EU Commission’s actions.

 

[danieldk]

What if both Apple and Android pulled out of the EU. Let everyone there use Nokia flip phones that Brussels can regulate.

Nothing really bad would happen. You can build a pretty good Android-based OS just on top of AOSP (see e.g. GrapheneOS or LineageOS). Also, many of the device vendors that are popular in Europe (Samsung, Oppo, Nothing, etc.) are not from the US. They would switch to AOSP without Google Play Services (which might not even be a loss). Play Integrity along with Google Wallet would be ditched (quickly replaced by a Wero-based wallet), which would be a feature rather than a loss. The largest issue would be that a new app store would be needed. Samsung already has one, I'm sure that they are more than willing to license it to other vendors in this scenario (even more so if they would get, say 10%, revenue on all apps/in-app purchases).

Of course, this is never going to happen, because instantly losing being the (pretty much) default search engine, app store, maps app, etc. of ~450 million customers would be such a stupendous act that either the board or the shareholders would fire the CEO. It is more likely that they'll just not offer the AI features in the EU, which would frankly be a win to a lot of people.

 

[Ad47uk]

Dear peoples outside of the EU…

Please stop being so stupid as to think that all EU citizens agree with the EU Commission’s actions.

I am not a EU citizen and it is because of some of their actions and not wanting to be part of a United states of Europe I voted for our country to leave. But they do come out with some good ideas.

But you are correct, not all E.U citizens agree with the EU Commission’s actions, like not all British people agree with our government and I doubt not all U.S Americans agree with, what ever it is they put in power.

 

[Ad47uk]

Nothing really bad would happen. You can build a pretty good Android-based OS just on top of AOSP (see e.g. GrapheneOS or LineageOS). Also, many of the device vendors that are popular in Europe (Samsung, Oppo, Nothing, etc.) are not from the US. They would switch to AOSP without Google Play Services (which might not even be a loss). Play Integrity along with Google Wallet would be ditched (quickly replaced by a Wero-based wallet), which would be a feature rather than a loss. The largest issue would be that a new app store would be needed. Samsung already has one, I'm sure that they are more than willing to license it to other vendors in this scenario (even more so if they would get, say 10%, revenue on all apps/in-app purchases).

Of course, this is never going to happen, because instantly losing being the (pretty much) default search engine, app store, maps app, etc. of ~450 million customers would be such a stupendous act that either the board or the shareholders would fire the CEO. It is more likely that they'll just not offer the AI features in the EU, which would frankly be a win to a lot of people.

A nice Linux based OS would be nice, not Android and yes I know Android is open source.
Also a nice Linux based computer OS would be nice, while I love my Mac, If linux had better software I would flip to it in an instant

 

[Kriss_De_Valnor]

LET THE USER DECIDE for gods sake. I’m from Germany and since the EU cancels us everything that’s fun, I guess in a short period of time we move so much backwards that we start using horses and carriages again

Very true, greetings from Poland!

 

[DickieSmith]

Do they pay to use Gemini? I thought it was a part of the Google package, just as Siri for Apple.

As in there is a feature available that was marketed to them and could legitimately be claimed by a plaintiff as a contributing factor when deciding to purchase an Android device.

Similar (albeit not identical) to the class action lawsuit filed against Apple for marketing the iPhone 16 / 16 Pro with Apple Intelligence features that failed to be delivered.

 

[nikusak]

It’s absurd to think that users and governments would want something like Microsoft from the ’90s all over again.

Some users don’t see the big picture!

The EU wants to become more digitally independent, and things are slowly starting to move in a direction that I—and many other EU users—approve of.

I don’t trust the two big tech companies (apple & google) that for years wouldn’t allow files to be exchanged via an open standard like Bluetooth. 🥳

But I know, of course, that some people believe this fairy tale:

The market will take care of everything. *pinocchio*

If the big tech companies don't like it, they're welcome to leave the EU, Japan, Brazil... etc.
🤣

But options are slowly running out for the big tech companies worldwide.

EU will never become digitally independent.

Microsoft's dominance eroded without regulation - markets did it. First, the web and Google, then mobile, which they missed and eventually failed.

For the most part, we do not need EC to dictate how consumer tech or any tech should work. Companies are much better at this than a group of tech illiterate 60 year olds with political motives.

For example, AirDrop is massively superior to anything developed by some committee. Bluetooth file transfer is horrible.

It's much easier to pull off stuff like that when you control the whole stack and you do no need to agree with 87 companies and regulatory bodies of 200 countries.

Getting AirDrop to work across all platforms would be quite tricky - especially the "my contacts only" part.

(Not sure if Google's "AirDrop" implementation has managed to pull that off)

EC has told Apple to allow third party "AirDrop" and "AirPlay" implementations embedded to the OS. Not sure if that's already possible, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for these third party implementations. Every TV supports AirPlay already.

 

[Xiao_Xi]

Apple would have standardized to USB-C you say? So if that was their intention, why in the hell were they so opposed to the standardization for over 12 years, and why did it take them 9 years to adopt USB-C?

Citing an article from 2023:

The road to the iPhone's USB-C port has been long, some in Brussels admit.

Alex Agius Saliba, a Maltese social democrat who led the work on the common charger file, recalls how Apple executives were "nearly laughing at us" when lawmakers brought up the issue during a visit to the iPhone manufacturer about three years ago.

"They were totally brushing us off when it comes to the common charger, not even replying to us," he told POLITICO in an interview ahead of the iPhone launch.

With Apple’s iPhone 15, the EU wins the charger war

The new iPhone will reportedly feature a charging port soon to be required in the bloc.

www.politico.eu

 

[Kriss_De_Valnor]

Is that so? 🙂 (take particular note to the 'transatlantic flip').

• • The Scale of EU to U.S. Migration: The European Union's share of worldwide legal immigration to the U.S. has remained small. Even during peak periods, EU nationals generally accounted for only a minor fraction of the total legal permanent residents added to the U.S. population each year.
  • The "Transatlantic Flip": Data from organizations like the Brookings Institution shows that recent years have experienced a reversal in transatlantic migration. For the first time in decades, the number of Americans emigrating to European countries has surpassed the number of Europeans moving to the U.S.
  • Country-Specific Drops: Official figures from specific European nations—such as Germany—have confirmed that departures to the U.S. are at multi-year lows, and that in recent years, more Americans relocated to Germany than Germans relocated to the States.

I think he meant that business is moving (escaping) from EU and GB. Tons of laws to follow, bureaucracy, unreal energy bills, loony left in Downing Street and more make European economy unable to compete with the rest.

 

[BigQJohnson]

Citing an article from 2023:

With Apple’s iPhone 15, the EU wins the charger war

The new iPhone will reportedly feature a charging port soon to be required in the bloc.

www.politico.eu

Why would the circus leader talk to the clowns?

 

[steggerwoof]

I think he meant that business is moving (escaping) from EU and GB. Tons of laws to follow, bureaucracy, unreal energy bills, loony left in Downing Street and more make European economy unable to compete with the rest.

I had the same realisation after I posted my response 😂

I agree with everything you said, life in the UK at least, is crazy at the moment.