Apple Steals Google's Support: The Unprecedented Alliance Against Brussels on AI

The scene has something surreal. Apple, the company that has spent the past three years fighting the DMA in European courts, has just submitted an official contribution to the Commission to defend Google. Not on the quality of its products or its business practices (we're not there yet), but on a specific point. The provisional measures published on April 27, 2026 would require Google to open Android features to competing AI assistants. As reported by Reuters on May 13, Apple refers to these proposals as "urgent and serious concerns" regarding privacy, security, and device integrity.

What exactly is the European Commission asking for

The provisional measures, drafted within the framework of the DMA specification procedures opened on January 27, 2026, would require Google to allow third-party AI assistants to interact with Android apps in the same way as Gemini (Google's own AI). Specifically, an assistant like ChatGPT, Alexa, or Mistral could send emails via Gmail, place orders, or share photos, without going through Google's APIs. The measures also provide that Google would share anonymized search data (queries, clicks, views) with competing search engines. The consultation period closed on May 13, and the Commission must issue its final decision before July 27, 2026.

Also read: The first ChatGPT smartphone could arrive faster than expected, with a custom chip

Apple, in its document, does not merely weakly support Google. The company challenges the Commission's technical competence, arguing that Brussels "substitutes its own judgment, based on less than three months of work, for that of Google's engineers." Apple adds that the risks are "particularly acute in the context of rapidly evolving AI systems, whose capabilities, behaviors, and threat vectors remain unpredictable." Behind the security rhetoric (which is not entirely unfounded, let's be frank), the issue for Apple is clear: if the Commission forces Google to open Android to rival AI, the precedent will mechanically apply to iOS.

Apple defends Google or Apple is defending itself

Apple challenged the DMA in court in October 2025 and publicly demanded its repeal the following month, arguing that the law had created security loopholes and degraded the user experience. The Commission had responded that it had no intention of repealing the text. In May 2026, the EU published a DMA impact assessment concluding that the law had had a "globally positive impact," sweeping Apple's and Google's arguments aside with an administrative brush.

The most ironic aspect of the case lies in a single fact. Google and Apple announced earlier this year a major partnership: Gemini, Google's AI, will power the new version of Siri slated for the end of 2026. Apple is thus defending Google's dominant position on Android while integrating Google's AI technology into its own ecosystem. It's hard to be more aligned with mutual interests while insisting that the sole motivation is the protection of European users.

For the 450 million Android and iOS users in the European Union, the issue is very real. Opening a phone's commands to any third-party AI assistant (with the ability to send emails, place orders, and manipulate files) raises concrete security issues that the Commission may not have fully measured. Apple and Google are right in principle. But when two companies that control 99% of the smartphone market invoke security to oppose opening their platforms, one might find the argument a bit convenient.

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Source : Reuters