Apple backs Google against EU plan to open Android to AI rivals, citing privacy risks

Apple criticises EU measures to help AI rivals access Google services

BRUSSELS, May 13 (Reuters) - Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab on Wednesday echoed Google's criticism of EU antitrust regulators' efforts to force the search giant to help AI rivals access its services, warning the proposed measures pose risks to privacy, security and safety. Apple was responding to the European Commission's call last month for feedback on draft measures to help Google comply with the Digital Markets Act, aimed at curbing Big Tech's power. Alphabet-owned (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google has said the proposals, which would let competing ⁠AI services interact with Android apps to send emails, order food or share photos, would undermine key privacy and security safeguards for European users. Apple, also subject to EU proposals to open up its ecosystem, said it has a strong interest in the case given its own operating systems for iPhones, iPads and Mac computers - highlighting the broader implications for how platforms must handle third-party AI access. "The DMs (draft measures) raise urgent and serious concerns. If ⁠confirmed, they would create profound risks for user privacy, security, and safety as well as device integrity and performance," Apple said in its submission. "Those risks are especially acute in the context of rapidly evolving AI systems whose capabilities, behaviours, ⁠and threat vectors remain unpredictable as we are now seeing time and again," it said. Apple also questioned the EU regulator's technical expertise and objective. "The EC is redesigning ⁠an OS (operating system). It is substituting judgments made by Google's engineers for its own judgment based on less than three months of work. It ⁠is all the more dangerous given the only value that can be discerned from the DMs guiding this work appears to be open and unfettered access." Reporting by Foo Yun Chee. Editing by Mark Potter Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Boards, Policy & Regulation * Regulatory Oversight Foo Yun Chee Thomson Reuters An agenda-setting and market-moving journalist, Foo Yun Chee is a 21-year veteran at Reuters. Her stories on high profile mergers have pushed up the European telecoms index, lifted companies' shares and helped investors decide on their next move. Her knowledge and experience of European antitrust laws and developments helped her break stories on Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta and Apple, numerous market-moving mergers and antitrust investigations. She has previously reported on Greek politics and companies, when Greece's entry into the eurozone meant it punched above its weight on the international stage, as well as on Dutch corporate giants and the quirks of Dutch society and culture that never fail to charm readers.

Apple backs Google after EU orders Android be opened up to AI rivals - Engadget

Apple is on Google's side when it comes the latter's criticisms against the European Union's proposals which would give third-party AI services the same level of access to Android that Gemini has. The European Commission has been taking steps to ensure that Google complies with the rules of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). In January, it told the company that it has to give external AI assistants the same access to Android its own technology has and to hand over "anonymized ranking, query, click and view data held by Google Search" to rival search engines. The aim, the commission said, was to give third-party providers an "an equal opportunity to innovate and compete in the rapidly evolving AI landscape on smart mobile devices." It explained that opening up Android would keep the AI market open and promote innovation in the field. In April, the commission released draft rules with the measures it wants Google to take to comply with its AI demands. Google's counsel argued at the time that the measures would undermine "critical privacy and security for European users" and unnecessarily drive up costs. Apple agreed with Google in its feedback, sent in response to the commission's call for comments on the draft rules it had released. According to Reuters, Apple echoed Google's statement that allowing competing AI services complete access to Android would undermine European users' privacy. It would, for instance, allow them to interact with the apps people use to send emails, order food or share photos. "The DMs (draft measures) raise urgent and serious concerns. If ⁠confirmed, they would create profound risks for user privacy, security, and safety as well as device integrity and performance," the company reportedly wrote. It added that the risks are pretty high, since AI systems are still evolving and have capabilities and behaviors that remain unpredictable. "The EC... is substituting judgments made by Google's engineers for its own judgment based on less than three months of work," the company also wrote, questioning the little time the commission had to write the draft rules. "It ⁠is all the more dangerous given the only value that can be discerned from the DMs guiding this work appears to be open and unfettered access." Apple has admitted that it has a strong interest in the case, seeing it's also being probed by the commission. The company has long opposed the Digital Markets Act, under which Apple is required to allow third-party marketplaces for apps on its operating system, and had previously asked the commission to repeal it. In January, it accused the EU's executive body of using "political delay tactics" to investigate and fine the company following the shutdown of an alternative app store.

Apple Defends Google Against EU Proposal to Give AI Rivals Access to Services

Apple has stepped in to warn that EU proposals to force Google to open Android to competing AI services pose serious risks to user privacy, security, and safety. Apple's latest submission to the EU comes (via Reuters) in response to the European Commission's call for feedback on draft measures designed to help Google comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The proposals would allow competing AI services to interact with Android apps to perform actions such as sending emails, ordering food, or sharing photos. Google has already pushed back on the plans, arguing they would undermine key privacy and security safeguards for European users. Apple, which is itself now subject to EU measures requiring it to open up its own ecosystem, said it has a strong interest in the case given its own operating systems for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. In its submission, Apple said the draft measures "raise urgent and serious concerns," warning that if confirmed, "they would create profound risks for user privacy, security, and safety as well as device integrity and performance." Apple also took aim at the rapidly evolving state of AI as a particular source of concern, arguing that risks are "especially acute in the context of rapidly evolving AI systems whose capabilities, behaviours, and threat vectors remain unpredictable." The company questioned the EU's technical expertise in drawing up the proposals, stating that the Commission is "substituting judgments made by Google's engineers for its own judgment based on less than three months of work," and suggesting the only discernible goal of the draft measures is "open and unfettered access." Apple has a long history of clashing with EU regulators over the DMA. The company challenged the regulation in court in October 2025, and urged regulators to scrap it entirely the month before, arguing it had created security vulnerabilities and worsened the user experience. The EU said it had no intention of repealing the law in response. The feedback period for the proposals ran from April 27 to May 13, 2026. The European Commission has said it will carefully assess all submissions and may adjust the proposed measures as a result, though its final decision must be adopted within six months of the opening of the specification proceedings, giving a deadline of July 27, 2026. The EU separately concluded in May 2026 that the DMA has had a positive impact overall, setting aside Apple's lobbying for the regulation to be revised.

AppleInsider.com

Apple slams EU DMA over privacy and innovation risks - for Android The European Union wants Google to allow any AI company to use its services, and the company hates the idea. Apple agrees with Google. Apple doesn't seem to be listened to by the European Union when it complains about its own experiences trying to work within the Digital Markets Act (DMA). But since the EU has asked for responses to its proposals for Google to open up to rival AI firms, Apple has tried again. "The DMs [draft measures] raise urgent and serious concerns," said Apple in a submission to the EU, as seen by Reuters. For instance, Apple is expressly concerned about the idea that any AI firm could in theory send emails or order food via Android, without Google's or perhaps the user's knowledge. "If confirmed, they would create profound risks for user privacy, security, and safety as well as device integrity and performance," continued Apple. Apple doubtlessly has its own platforms in mind when it is now objecting to rival firms having full access to Android. But it also makes the point that the EU has specified AI firms in its proposals, and Apple points out how poor and error-strewn AI apps are. "These risks are especially acute in the context of rapidly evolving AI systems whose capabilities, behaviours, and threat vectors remain unpredictable," said Apple, "as we are now seeing time and again." Anyone can submit their opinion to the EU when there is an open call like this, and everyone who does is really looking to protect their own interests. So Apple is clearly concerned that it, too, may be forced to allow the same rival access in iOS. However, Apple does also have the experience of what it has previously claimed to be "hundreds of thousands of engineering hours" in complying with the DMA. And as part of its new submission, questioned the EU's technological expertise. "The EC is redesigning an OS... it is substituting judgments made by Google's engineers for its own judgment based on less than three months of work," said Apple. "It is all the more dangerous given the only value that can be discerned from the [draft measures] guiding this work appears to be open and unfettered access." Separately, in May 2026, the EU concluded that its DMA has made a positive impact, thereby ignoring Apple's lobbying for it to be revised. It's not clear when Apple submitted its filing to the EU, but it was during the consultation period that ran from April 27, 2026, to May 13, 2026. The European Commission states that it will "carefully assess" submissions from both Google and what it calls interested parties. It does say that there may be adjustments made to the proposed measures because of the submissions. However, it also mandates that its final decision "must be adopted within six months" of the opening of the specification proceedings. In this case, that means July 27, 2026.

Apple Sides With Google In Fighting EU's AI Measures | PYMNTS.com

As Reuters reported Wednesday (May 13), the European Commission (EC) has been seeking feedback on measures to help Google comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The EC said earlier this year it planned to take a closer look at whether Google's artificial intelligence features were in keeping with the legislation. "Artificial Intelligence tools are transforming the way we seek and receive online information on our smartphones and even how we interact with our devices," Teresa Ribera, the EC's executive vice president for clean, just and competitive transition, said at the time. "This creates new opportunities. We want to maximise the potential and the benefits of this profound technological shift by making sure the playing field is open and fair, not tilted in favour of the largest few." Google has said these proposed measures -- which would allow rival AI services interact with Google apps to do things like send emails or order food -- would go against important privacy and security protections for users in Europe. Apple said in its submission to the EC that it has a vested interest in the case, given its own operating system for its device, underlining the larger implications for how platforms must deal with third-party AI access, the Reuters report added. The proposed measures "raise urgent and serious concerns. If confirmed, they would create profound risks for user privacy, security, and safety as well as device integrity and performance," Apple said in its submission, per Reuters. "Those risks are especially acute in the context of rapidly evolving AI systems whose capabilities, behaviours, and threat vectors remain unpredictable as we are now seeing time and again," the company added. According to Reuters, Apple also wondered about the EC's technical expertise and objective in what it described as "redesigning" an operating system. "It is substituting judgments made by Google's engineers for its own judgment based on less than three months of work," Apple said. "It is all the more dangerous given the only value that can be discerned from the DMs guiding this work appears to be open and unfettered access."

Apple opposes EU plans to open Google services to rival AI

Apple has joined Google in criticizing measures under consideration by the European Commission that would force the US giant to further open its services to artificial intelligence competitors. The Cupertino-based group argues that these proposals could undermine user privacy, security, and device integrity. This reaction comes as part of consultations launched by Brussels regarding the enforcement of the Digital Markets Act, legislation designed to curb the power of major tech platforms. Google had already warned that these new rules would allow rival AI services to interact more freely with Android applications -- notably for sending emails, sharing photos, or making purchases -- at the expense of current protections. Apple emphasizes that the issue extends beyond Google's specific case and concerns more broadly how operating systems must manage access for third-party artificial intelligence. The group believes that security and privacy risks are particularly high given the rapid development of AI technologies. In its submission to the European Commission, Apple also criticized the technical approach taken by European authorities. The group claims that Brussels is seeking to "redesign an operating system" by replacing engineering decisions with a vision it deems insufficiently thorough. Finally, Apple contends that the philosophy of openness imposed by the DMA could lead to "open and unrestricted" access to platforms, with potentially significant consequences for user protection and device performance.