BRUSSELS — Apple rarely finds common ground with its archrival Google. Yet on a pivotal regulatory fight, the two tech giants stand together. They warn that European Union plans to pry open Android for rival artificial intelligence services could expose users to new dangers.
The clash centers on the Digital Markets Act. This sweeping law seeks to curb the power of gatekeepers like Alphabet and Apple. Regulators want Google to let competing AI tools interact freely with Android apps. Think sending emails, ordering takeout or sharing photos on behalf of users. The goal sounds straightforward. The risks, Apple argues, do not.
In a submission filed Wednesday, Apple delivered some of its sharpest criticism yet. “The DMs raise urgent and serious concerns,” the company stated, according to Reuters. “If confirmed, they would create profound risks for user privacy, security, and safety as well as device integrity and performance.”
Those words carry weight. Apple itself faces DMA obligations to open its iOS platform. It has challenged the rules in court. It has urged revisions. Now it positions the Google case as a cautionary tale for the entire industry. The stakes extend far beyond one operating system.
But the concerns run deeper with AI. Capabilities shift fast. Behaviors prove hard to predict. Threat vectors multiply. “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,” Apple’s filing continued, as reported by both MacRumors and Reuters.
EU Ambition Meets Technical Reality
Regulators spent months crafting the draft measures. They opened a public consultation in late April. Feedback closed Wednesday. The Commission promises to review every comment before a July deadline. Yet Apple questions the pace and the expertise involved.
“The EC is redesigning an OS,” the submission said. “It is substituting judgments made by Google’s engineers for its own judgment based on less than three months of work.” The only clear aim, Apple suggested, appears to be “open and unfettered access.” Short sentence. Long implications. Device performance could suffer. Security models might crack. Users might pay the price.
Google voiced similar objections earlier. It argued the proposals would undermine core privacy protections built into Android. Hundreds of millions of Europeans rely on those safeguards for sensitive searches about health, family and finances. Handing data to third parties without ironclad controls invites trouble. Clare Kelly, Google’s senior competition counsel, made that point in April when preliminary findings emerged.
The two companies don’t always align. Their search partnership faces antitrust heat in the U.S. and Europe. Yet here they converge. Both see the DMA’s interoperability demands as blunt instruments. Both worry that good intentions could produce bad outcomes when applied to complex, AI-driven systems.
And consider the timing. The EU released a factsheet just days ago touting how the DMA improves smartphones. It highlighted better data portability and interoperability options. Apple and Google have cooperated on eSIM transfers and cross-platform data tools. Progress exists. This fight reveals the limits.
Apple’s involvement stems from self-interest. It operates iPhone, iPad and Mac systems. DMA rules already force changes to its App Store, browser choices and default settings. The company appealed interoperability requirements last year. It told regulators the law creates security holes and frustrates users. Brussels dismissed calls to repeal it. Officials maintain the DMA delivers net benefits for competition and consumers.
Still, Apple’s track record on privacy lends credibility to its warnings. The company built its brand on tight control. It limits app permissions. It sandboxes processes. It rejects sideloading in most markets to reduce malware risks. Forcing similar openness on Google, especially for unpredictable AI agents, feels like a step backward, Apple contends.
Recent developments add context. The Commission granted Google extra time in early May to address search-related concerns under the DMA. Preliminary findings found fault with self-preferencing. Extensions show regulators recognize complexity. They also signal prolonged battles ahead.
So what comes next? The Commission will analyze submissions. It may tweak the proposals. Final measures must arrive by late July. Appeals seem likely whatever the outcome. Courts have become the real arena for these tech disputes.
Industry observers note the unusual alliance. Apple defending Google? It underscores a shared belief. Platform integrity matters. Rapid AI deployment demands caution, not haste. Unfettered access might sound pro-competitive. It could also erode the very trust that keeps users engaged.
Europe wants more choice. It wants less dominance. Fair goals. Execution proves tricky. AI adds layers of uncertainty that static rules struggle to address. Engineers at Google and Apple spend years stress-testing features. Regulators operate on tighter schedules and different incentives.
The submission marks another chapter in Big Tech’s pushback against the DMA. Apple challenged the law in court in 2025. It called for a full reset months later. Google has issued its own critiques. Neither has swayed Brussels yet. The bloc’s May assessment praised the DMA’s early effects. Momentum favors regulators.
But technical arguments from the companies carry force. Device integrity isn’t abstract. Poorly integrated AI could drain batteries, leak data or crash apps. Performance hits would frustrate users. Safety gaps might expose children or vulnerable groups. These aren’t hypothetical concerns. They reflect real engineering trade-offs.
Fragment. The risks feel immediate. The timeline, compressed. The stakes, high.
Longer-term questions linger. Will forced interoperability spur genuine AI innovation? Or will it simply transfer power to new intermediaries while weakening established protections? Apple bets on the latter. Its filing reads like a warning to any platform operator facing similar demands.
The EU frames its actions as leveling the field. Gatekeepers must share. Rivals must gain footholds. In theory, consumers win. Practice reveals friction. Apple’s own DMA compliance has brought choice screens, alternative app stores and payment options. It has also introduced new prompts, potential vulnerabilities and user confusion in some cases.
Now the focus shifts to Android and AI. The proposals target core system services. They aim to let third-party agents act with the same privileges as Google’s own tools. That equivalence drives the privacy worries. Different developers apply different standards. Oversight becomes diffuse.
Apple didn’t invent these arguments. It amplified them. Its voice adds heft because it operates under parallel constraints. When one gatekeeper critiques rules that could apply to all, regulators must listen. Whether they adjust remains uncertain.
Feedback from developers and other stakeholders poured in during the consultation window. Some likely welcomed the measures. Others echoed the privacy fears. The Commission says it will weigh everything carefully. Its track record suggests it will hold firm on core objectives while perhaps refining technical details.
Either way, the debate exposes tensions at the heart of digital regulation. Innovation moves at machine speed. Lawmakers and enforcers cannot. AI amplifies that gap. Systems learn, adapt and sometimes surprise. Hard-coding access requirements in advance carries unknowns.
Apple and Google agree on one point. Proceed with care. The submission doesn’t reject competition. It rejects reckless implementation. “Open and unfettered access” might serve as a slogan. As policy for consumer devices holding personal data, it demands scrutiny.
Brussels has until July. The companies have courts. Users have choices — for now. How this resolves could shape AI deployment across Europe and influence similar efforts elsewhere. The alliance between Apple and Google might prove temporary. The issues it highlights will endure.