According toNewsIt was pointed out that in its public opinion letter to the European Commission, Apple unusually aligned itself with its biggest competitor, Google, strongly criticizing the EU's draft bill that requires Google to open up low-level permissions of the Android system to third-party AI services.
Apple has warned that forcibly granting such access rights would pose "profound risks" to user privacy, device security, and even system performance. This not only reflects a consensus between the two tech giants on privacy and security but also highlights Apple's strong anxiety about trying to prevent the unlimited expansion of the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
The EU's AI open access order requires competitors to have the same system privileges as Gemini.
The source of this controversy stems from a draft law published by the European Union in April of this year in order to implement the Digital Markets Act.
The European Commission believes that Google, leveraging its market share in the Android operating system, gives its AI assistants (such as Gemini) an unfair competitive advantage. Therefore, the EU...ClaimGoogle must "fully open up" Android's system permissions to third-party AI service providers, allowing competitors' AI to deeply read and manipulate users' phone systems, just like Gemini.
In addition, the EU requires Google to hand over its anonymized ranking, query, click, and browsing data held by its search engine to competitors in order to promote fair competition and innovation in the rapidly developing field of AI.
Apple slams: Specifications drafted in just three months will pose "far-reaching risks".
Faced with the EU's strong demands, Google's legal team was the first to object, emphasizing that the move would undermine the privacy and security of European users. Even more surprisingly, Apple, which has traditionally distanced itself from Google on privacy issues, chose to fully support Google this time.
According toReuters NewsApple strongly criticized the draft proposal in the feedback document it received. Apple pointed out that allowing third-party AI services unrestricted access to the Android underlying system (such as arbitrarily reading users' emails, delivery orders, or private photo libraries) would pose significant risks.
"These drafts raise urgent and serious concerns. If implemented, they will pose profound risks to users' privacy, security, personal safety, and the integrity and performance of their devices," Apple wrote in its submission. It also criticized the European Commission's bureaucracy, pointing out that the Commission attempted to replace the professional judgment of Google engineers with its own judgment based on less than three months of work.
Protecting the competition is also protecting oneself: Apple's extended battle against the Digital Markets Act
Why is Apple so actively involved in a regulatory case targeting Android? The answer is obvious: if Google cannot defend the Android platform, Apple's iOS platform will obviously be the next target.
Apple has made no secret of its "strong interest" in this case, and has long been a staunch opponent of the Digital Markets Act. Under pressure from the EU, Apple has been forced to open its third-party app store and alternative payment systems in Europe; in January of this year, Apple even publicly accused the European Commission of using "political delaying tactics" to investigate and penalize the company.
If the EU succeeds in forcing Google to open its operating system's underlying layers to all AI developers, it will set a very damaging precedent. In the future, the EU will almost certainly use the same standard to require Apple to open up the underlying Siri system and Apple Intelligence permissions of iOS to third-party developers and manufacturers, which would mean completely dismantling the "closed security ecosystem" on which Apple depends for its survival.
