The EU is putting pressure on Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOGL.US) again: It plans to force Android to open AI service entry, Gemini faces challenges of fair competition.

Notice that the EU regulatory authorities once again target Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOGL.US), publishing a series of proposals aimed at opening up the Android ecosystem to its competitors' AI services. The European Commission said on Monday that in order to comply with relevant regulations, it wants this Alphabet subsidiary to ensure that "competitors' AI services can interact effectively with applications on users' Android devices and perform tasks." Although the proposals put forward on Monday under the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) are a step away from formal investigation or orders, their purpose is to guide this US giant to comply with the rules. EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said in a statement, "The proposed measures will give Android users more choices when it comes to using and integrating AI services on their phones, including a broad range of AI services that compete with Alphabet Inc. Class C's own AI." EU regulators added that they are seeking industry feedback on the plan. Alphabet Inc. Class C's Gemini currently has access to core Android functionalities, including integration and communication with a range of applications. The EU hopes that the company will grant equal access to critical Android functionalities such as voice activation technology that users can use to activate AI services. Alphabet Inc. Class C's senior antitrust legal advisor Claire Kelly criticized the EU's measures in a statement, calling this "unreasonable interference" that could unnecessarily raise costs and harm European users' critical privacy and security protections. The EU's Digital Markets Act sets out a list of "dos and don'ts" for large tech companies, which has angered the White House and been criticized by former US President Trump for unfairly targeting American companies. Faced with pressure from both sides of the Atlantic, the EU has been relatively cautious in enforcing this rulebook, so far imposing a relatively mild fine of around 5 billion euros (5.87 billion US dollars) on Apple Inc., and a 2 billion euro fine on Meta Platforms. If Alphabet Inc. Class C does not comply with the findings of Monday's investigation, the EU may later decide to launch a formal investigation, which itself carries a threat of fines. Over the years, Alphabet Inc. Class C has accumulated fines totaling nearly 9.5 billion euros from the EU for abusing its market dominance.