OMI Europe backs EU rules to stop Google locking rivals out of Android AI
Open Markets Institute Europe has submitted a response to the European Commission’s consultation on new rules that would require Google to give rival AI services fair access to Android phones. Preventing Google from giving its AI services exclusive system-level access to Android phones is essential to preserving contestability and consumer choice in the emerging mobile AI market.
OMI Europe’s submission urges the Commission to stand by its proposals, which represent precisely the kind of forward-looking, evidence-based and market-opening intervention the DMA was designed for. With the market for mobile AI services still at an early stage, this intervention by the Commission comes at a crucial moment. It will help ensure that Europe’s consumers have genuine choice in the AI services they install on their devices and will prevent Google from foreclosing that market to disruptive and innovative competitors, including European alternatives.
Protecting the mobile AI market from Google’s monopoly control is critical for Europe’s competitiveness and sovereignty. By giving AI developers access to Android on an equal footing to Google, the proposed measures will support the emergence of a pluralistic European AI ecosystem and thus limit the dependence of European citizens, businesses and governments on Google’s technology.
Open Markets Europe makes four key arguments in its submission:
These measures are the minimum necessary to ensure the mobile AI services market remains open and competitive in light of the gatekeeper power Google possesses over Android.
The privacy and security arguments Google is using to push back against the proposed measures are overstated and part of a longstanding playbook used by dominant tech firms to justify anticompetitive behaviour and protect monopoly power.
Once these measures are adopted, the Commission must proactively enforce compliance with them. This includes creating clear compliance pathways for third-party developers, ensuring Google provides adequate documentation and advanced access, and creating straightforward processes via which competitors can escalate complaints against Google for non-compliance.
Equivalent measures should also be extended to Apple with regard to iOS.