Google and Apple are clashing with the EU over the future of AI assistants - CNN

What the report says

CNN reports that Google and Apple are pushing back against European Union efforts to make rival AI assistants more accessible and capable on smartphones. The European Commission says the companies’ control of Android and iOS gives them a major advantage as AI assistants move from answering questions to carrying out tasks. Apple and Google together account for about 5 billion active smartphones worldwide, according to Omdia, with roughly 427 million iPhones and Android phones subject to EU rules.

The Commission’s latest demands are tied to the Digital Markets Act, the EU’s 2023 competition regime for large digital “gatekeepers.” Under the mandate described by CNN, Google must provide broader Android access for competing AI agents by July 2027, allowing EU users to use voice controls and third-party agents to operate apps in ways similar to Google’s Gemini. Google is also required to begin sharing search data with rival search engines and AI chatbots in January.

Google and Apple argue that the requirements could expose sensitive user data and weaken platform security. Google executives said deeper access would grant outside apps powerful device permissions and could create risks around privacy, trade secrets and national security. Apple, which CNN says has delayed launching its new Siri AI assistant on iPhones and iPads in the EU because of the DMA, said the rules would force it to give virtual assistants direct access to private data.

The dispute matters because AI agents may become a central way people interact with phones, apps and online services. CNN cited experts who said opening mobile operating systems could create real privacy and security risks, while also noting skepticism about whether privacy is the only reason dominant technology companies oppose the EU’s intervention.