Google is good at playing the game of EU law

Today, a The European Union ordered Google to give AI competitors a bigger advantage over Android, the open source system that powers billions of devices around the world. The key is it’s not surprising. It may seem like a defeat on paper for Google, which is over age resistance exactly such an opportunity, but it is a legal victory. It’s also a sign that Google may have outsmarted Apple by playing Brussels’ regulatory game more subtly.

One of two elections which was issued on Thursday, the European Commission – the head of the EU and the bloc’s main regulator of competition law – said that Google should give AI agents the same kind of system visibility and access to data that Google Gemini offers. The system comes from Europe Digital Markets Act (DMA), which requires large platforms designated as “gatekeepers” to provide competitors with access to other systems and data similar to those available in their operations.

The bottom line is, Google has until July 2027 to change this, giving it about a year to continue developing Gemini, negotiate technical terms with the EU, and work out how competitors can access Android. The company could also challenge the decision in court, although it has not said publicly whether it intends to do so and declined to comment on the filing. Seaside he asked.

While Google has done so he explained it clearly it will not open its systems at all – saying this would compromise user safety, security, and privacy – so that the year-round runway has the necessary access already. Gemini is already integrated into Android and often ships already installed as an AI assistant on many devices, which gives Google more time to encourage competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic to get the same opportunity.

Google’s process of submitting first and negotiating with regulators later is very different from Apple’s. When Apple he announced its long-awaited Siri AI assistant last month, made a big point to say that this will happen not launching in Europe due to DMA.

As with Android, the Commission said that Apple must give third-party assistants access to similar behavior, features, and data to the Siri AI. Apple said doing so “would be reckless” and create unacceptable risks to privacy and security. The company said it had asked the Commission for 18 months to develop a unified model and to demonstrate the necessary integration “gradually”. The board rejected the idea.

Apple does not yet have a public timeline for when, or even, it plans to bring Siri AI to the EU and has yet to comment. Seasiderequest for comments. Google, meanwhile, has just found the most gracious moment for Gemini that Apple wanted for Siri AI: time to join DMA while the AI ​​assistant remains on the market.

The differences may indicate where each company’s AI agent stood when DMA started making business decisions. Gemini has been a central pillar of Google’s AI strategy for years and has been widely distributed throughout the company’s ecosystem, giving Google a strong incentive to stay in the market and see any regulatory compliance afterward. Apple, meanwhile, unveiled its new Siri AI recently and decided to stop it in the EU, even though it spent years waiting for DMA requirements during product development.

Apple has also chosen to turn the absence of Siri AI into a political tool, apparently hoping that the court of public opinion will find its place and pressure Brussels to relax the controversial requirements. It did this openly and repeatedly, and took the unusual approach of consecrating its part Image of WWDC 2026 to explain why Siri AI is not coming to Europe, spread the word blog post titled “Due to DMA, Siri AI delayed in EU on iOS 27 and iPadOS 27,” and have a media discussion on this issue. It also said that China needs Siri AI through a a one-sentence footnote. All this made Brussels, not Apple’s decision, as the reason for the delay.

It is also possible that division may be less important behind the scenes than in public. Both Google and Apple strongly oppose DMA’s demands for compatibility, citing them as threats to privacy, security, and product integrity. The two companies also worked together on integrating Gemini into Apple’s AI products, including Siri AI, which makes sense for them to stay connected while exploring different ways to combat the same restrictions.

However, for now, the difference is huge. Google has a year to bring Android into compliance as it continues to develop Gemini. Brussels denied Apple this kind of approach, and who knows when Siri AI will reach the EU.