The European Commission opens a DMA procedure against Google. The subject is the privileged position of Gemini in Android compared to external AI models.
Google is being called to account (again) by the European Commission. The executive branch of the Union announces in a press release that it will launch two formal procedures. These should ‘help’ Google to comply with its obligations under the DMA law.
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An initial investigation concerns the interoperability of AI services. Google’s own Gemini is now deeply embedded in the Android ecosystem. This gives the chatbot a competitive advantage over other AI models. The Commission believes that Google should offer external models the same interoperability.
Sharing search data
Furthermore, the European Commission wants to force Google to share data from its popular search engine with other parties. The term ‘search data’ includes anonymized rankings, search queries, and click and display data that are retained by Google Search. This data should give smaller search engines a boost to compete with Google, to the extent that this is still possible today.
The European Commission is taking the same steps as the American government. After the monopoly lawsuit last year, Google was obliged to share search data with competitors and to open up Android more to external parties. Google had to pay that price to avoid having to sell Chrome. However, Google is resisting these measures and will probably not give in so easily in the EU either.
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Google vs DMA
The European Commission still expects Google to cooperate and hopes to complete the procedures within six months. Within three months, the Commission will communicate its preliminary findings to Google, with draft measures to ensure compliance with the DMA. If this does not succeed voluntarily, a more in-depth investigation will follow to determine effective infringements and to determine sanctions.
As a ‘gatekeeper,’ Google has been subject to DMA legislation since March 2024. As befits a tech giant, Google seeks the limits of what is and is not possible. It is therefore not the first time that the Commission has the company in its sights.