The European Commission Ruled Months Ago That Google’s Integration of Gemini in Android Violates the DMA

Ryan Whitham, writing for Ars Technica back in April: European regulators are proposing several broad changes to the way AI tools operate on Android phones. Some of this is straightforward, like allowing third-party AI tools to be invoked system-wide via hot words or button presses. This might also include allowing AI tools to view screen context when the user opens them. Context also extends to allowing alternative AI systems to access local data to generate proactive suggestions and summaries. The report actually describes something that sounds like Google’s Magic Cue, which relies on Gemini to offer suggestions based on your activity. Google has also started experimenting with allowing AI to control certain apps. As we saw when this feature debuted on the Galaxy S26 , Gemini is currently pretty bad at using apps on your behalf. The commission wants to explore allowing other AI services to autonomously control installed apps and system features on Android phones. Maybe someone else could do better? Maybe! But also maybe it’s a bad idea for complex system architecture design to come from non-technical government bureaucrats. One of these maybes strikes me as a lot more likely than the other. Many of the Gemini AI features in Android, including Magic Cue, rely on running local models, and Google has been slow to allow third parties the system access to make that work effectively. So the EU is also suggesting a mandate that would ensure developers have the necessary hardware access to run local models “with high levels of performance, availability and responsiveness.”