On the heels of the European Union’s investigation into Elon Musk‘s X platform, another prominent US technology company is now under scrutiny in Brussels. On Tuesday, the European Union announced its intention to ensure that Google provides rival artificial intelligence companies and search engines with appropriate access to its Gemini AI services and associated data, as stipulated by the EU’s key digital regulations.
The executive body of the 27-nation EU has initiated “specification proceedings” to confirm compliance with the comprehensive Digital Markets Act. This legislation mandates that large technology firms must grant smaller competitors equal access to both hardware and software functionalities.
As part of these proceedings, the EU will delineate specific requirements for Google regarding the provision of “equally effective access to the same features” available through its own services to third-party AI companies. Additionally, the EU will evaluate whether Google is offering competing search engines fair and reasonable access to Google Search data, including for providers of AI chatbot services.
It is important to note that these proceedings do not constitute a formal investigation and are expected to conclude within six months, culminating in draft measures that may be imposed on Google. Clare Kelly, Google’s senior competition counsel, has expressed concerns regarding the rationale behind these proceedings.
“Android is open by design, and we’re already licensing Search data to competitors under the DMA,” Kelly said in a statement. “However, we are concerned that further rules which are often driven by competitor grievances rather than the interest of consumers, will compromise user privacy, security, and innovation.”
Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, said that Artificial Intelligence tools are transforming the way we seek and receive online information on our smartphones and even how we interact with our devices.
“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. With today’s proceedings we want to help Google by explaining in more detail how it should comply with its interoperability and online search data sharing obligations under the Digital Markets Act,” explained Teresa Ribera.
The recent initiative enhances the European Union’s scrutiny of Google, which is currently under investigation for potential antitrust violations. This inquiry, initiated by EU regulators last year, seeks to determine whether the company has gained an unfair advantage by utilising online content for its AI models and services.
This article used information from The Associated Press.
