Google troubled by EU move to help online search rivals

Alphabet's Google will be given guidance by European Union antitrust regulators on how to help online search rivals and artificial intelligence developers access its services and its Gemini AI models, the European Commission said on Tuesday.



Google has long faced criticism from rivals who say its market power gives it an unfair advantage, and are looking to the EU's Digital Markets Act to give them a leg up. The company rejects the allegations.



"Today's proceedings under the Digital Markets Act will provide guidance to Google to ensure that third-party online search engines and AI providers enjoy the same access to search data and Android operating system as Google's own services, like Google Search or Gemini," EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said.



Google expressed concerns after the Commission, the EU's competition enforcer, said it had opened two specification proceedings after discussions with the U.S. tech giant on how to comply with the DMA, which aims to rein in Big Tech's power.