June 18, 2026, 12:05 GMT | Insight
Google and
Apple's claims that the
European Commission is overreaching when intervening in the market for AI assistants have been met with opposition from a senior EU official, who has said consumer choice needs protecting at a crucial moment in the market's development. A director of the commission's digital directorate rejected arguments over risks to privacy, security and innovation, saying safeguards were in place, and the EU legislator had insisted on an open and contestable market.
Google and Apple's claims that the European Commission is overreaching when intervening in the market for AI assistants met with opposition from a senior EU official on Thursday, who said consumer choice needed protecting at a crucial moment in the market's development.
Rita Wezembeek, a director in the commission’s digital directorate, rejected arguments over risks to privacy, security and innovation, saying safeguards were in place, and the EU legislator had insisted on an open and contestable market.
"We are on the right track here. We understand that all arguments are used, but we're not convinced," the Director of Online Platforms at DG Connect told a conference* in Brussels.
In the coming weeks, the commission is due to wrap up a formal procedure, specifying how Google needs to open up its Android operating system to ensure other AI chatbots can have the same level of integration as the company's Gemini service.
The procedure will also ensure that search data can be shared with other companies to train their AI services. Google has said this endangers the privacy of user data.
Last week, Apple said it was delaying the launch of its Siri AI service in Europe due to a lack of guidance from the commission over compliance with digital markets rules.
"We see that both gatekeepers are actually strongly resistant to this [providing choice], because we understand the business model. But, still, this is what the European legislature wanted to happen," Wezembeek said.
Counter narratives over the risks to security were a "non-argument," because the Digital Markets Act allows the companies to take necessary steps to protect systems and users, she said .
Wezembeek said that data access wasn't being given to nefarious actors, but rather "reputable search engines" powering AI assistants.
There would be a "whole layer of contractual safeguards" to make sure those with access can't re-engineer users' search histories, she added.
Last week, the commission strongly rejected claims that the DMA stood in the way of Apple rolling out its AI-enhanced personal assistant Siri.
Wezembeek said Apple "effectively wanted a regulatory holiday" during which it wouldn't face DMA enforcement. That would have closed the door to rivals wishing to establish their agents on the iPhone.
* European Competition Forum Midsummer Meeting, Brussels, June 16-18, 2026.
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