Google challenges EU decision to open access to Android OS for AI
On September 28, Google challenged two European Union regulations. The EU has demanded that the company open access to some components of the Android operating system to competing artificial intelligence (AI) services, as well as provide competing search engines with search queries data.
On September 28, Google challenged two European Union regulations. The EU has demanded that the company open access to some components of the Android operating system to competing artificial intelligence (AI) services, as well as provide competing search engines with search queries data. Google has appealed to the EU General Court in Luxembourg, Reuters reported.
The company believes that the requirements of the European Commission could jeopardize the privacy of users and the security of the Android system. “We are appealing decisions that would force us to disclose confidential user search history without proper anonymization and weaken important security safeguards in Android,” said Oliver Betell, Google’s senior director of competition.
Google noted that search queries may contain information relating to, for example, health or personal life issues. The company stressed that the transfer of such data without adequate protection measures could harm the privacy of users.
The European Commission believes that the measures taken provide guarantees to protect the privacy of users, as well as the integrity and security of devices. Google-competing search engine DuckDuckGo has backed the EU position. DuckDuckGo called the anonymization mechanisms reliable.
According to the EU regulation, Google must meet the requirements for providing search data by January 2027, and make the necessary changes to Android by July 2027. In case of non-compliance, Google faces a fine of up to 10% of its global annual revenue and up to 20% for repeated violations.
Eugene Hvostik
