Google Is Suing the EU Over Forcing Android Open to Rival AI Bots
Google has filed two appeals at the EU General Court in Luxembourg challenging Digital Markets Act orders that would force Android to give rival AI assistants like ChatGPT the same system access as Gemini by August 2027, and require Google to share anonymized search data with competitors starting January 2027.
Google isn't waiting for the fines to start before fighting back. The company filed two appeals on September 28 at the EU General Court in Luxembourg, challenging a pair of July 16 Digital Markets Act rulings that would force Android open to rival AI assistants and hand competitors a slice of Google's search data.
Google's senior director for competition, Oliver Bethell, framed the fight around user protection rather than market share, saying the company is "appealing decisions that will force us to share people's private search history without sufficient anonymisation and weaken vital security protections on Android." A few specifics show what's actually at stake:
- By August 1, 2027, rival AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Perplexity must get the same access Gemini has to 11 Android features, including voice activation and the ability to perform actions inside other apps
- Starting January 2027, Google must share anonymized search, click and ranking data with qualifying competing search engines and AI chatbots
- Roughly 60% of EU mobile users run Android, which is exactly why the Commission is targeting the OS as the key AI-distribution battleground
Filing an appeal doesn't pause the clock — under EU law, the deadlines stand unless Google separately requests and wins interim relief from the court, meaning it may have to start complying with the search-data order months before judges even hear the case.
The dispute is really a proxy fight over distribution: Google insists Android is "already open and interoperable," while the Commission is betting that structural access, not just permission to compete, is what it takes to give Gemini's rivals a real foothold on the world's dominant mobile platform.
As Technology.org notes, the case adds to a growing pile of DMA appeals from Big Tech firms still seeking clarity on how far Brussels can reach — with either side free to escalate further to the European Court of Justice once the General Court eventually rules.
