Google is better than Apple at playing the AI regulations game
Google is better than Apple at playing the AI regulations game
在应对人工智能监管博弈中，谷歌比苹果更胜一筹
Today, the European Union ordered Google to give its AI rivals greater access to Android, the open-source operating system that powers billions of devices worldwide. The demand is hardly surprising. It may look like a defeat on paper for Google, which has spent years resisting exactly this kind of access, but it is a regulatory win. It’s also a sign that Google may have outmaneuvered Apple by playing Brussels’ regulatory game far more shrewdly.
今天，欧盟下令谷歌向其人工智能竞争对手提供对 Android 的更大访问权限，这一开源操作系统为全球数十亿台设备提供支持。这一要求并不令人意外。从表面上看，这对于多年来一直抵制此类访问的谷歌来说似乎是一场失败，但实际上这是一次监管层面的胜利。这也表明，谷歌通过更精明地应对布鲁塞尔的监管博弈，可能已经胜过了苹果。
In one of two decisions handed down on Thursday, the European Commission — the EU’s executive arm and the principal enforcer of the bloc’s competition rules — said Google must give rival AI assistants the same kind of system features and data access it grants Google’s Gemini. The order stems from Europe’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which requires dominant platforms designated as “gatekeepers” to give competitors access to certain systems and data comparable to what is available to their own services.
在周四下达的两项决定之一中，欧盟委员会（欧盟的执行机构，也是该集团竞争规则的主要执行者）表示，谷歌必须向竞争对手的人工智能助手提供与谷歌 Gemini 相同的系统功能和数据访问权限。该命令源于欧洲的《数字市场法案》（DMA），该法案要求被指定为“看门人”的主导平台，必须向竞争对手提供与其自身服务相当的特定系统和数据访问权限。
Crucially, Google has until July 2027 to make those changes, giving it roughly a year to continue expanding Gemini, negotiate technical details with the EU, and shape how its rivals will eventually plug into Android. The company could also challenge the decision in court, though it has not commented publicly whether it plans to do so and declined to comment on the record when The Verge inquired.
至关重要的是，谷歌在 2027 年 7 月之前完成这些调整即可，这给了它大约一年的时间来继续扩展 Gemini，与欧盟协商技术细节，并规划竞争对手最终如何接入 Android。该公司也可以在法庭上对该决定提出质疑，尽管它尚未公开评论是否计划这样做，且在《The Verge》询问时拒绝发表正式评论。
While Google has made it clear it would rather not open its systems at all — arguing it risks compromising users’ safety, security, and privacy — that yearlong runway compounds an already significant advantage. Gemini is already deeply integrated into Android and often ships preinstalled as the default AI assistant on many devices, giving Google more time to strengthen its position before rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic gain comparable levels of access.
虽然谷歌明确表示它根本不想开放其系统——理由是这可能会危及用户的安全、保障和隐私——但这一年的缓冲期进一步巩固了其本已显著的优势。Gemini 已经深度集成到 Android 中，并且通常作为许多设备上的默认人工智能助手预装，这让谷歌有更多时间在 OpenAI 和 Anthropic 等竞争对手获得同等访问权限之前，进一步巩固其市场地位。
Google’s strategy of shipping first and negotiating with regulators later stands in stark contrast to Apple’s. When Apple announced its long-awaited Siri AI assistant last month, it made a big point of saying the feature would not launch in Europe because of the DMA.
谷歌“先发布产品，后与监管机构谈判”的策略与苹果形成了鲜明对比。当苹果上个月宣布其期待已久的 Siri AI 助手时，它特意强调该功能因《数字市场法案》（DMA）而不会在欧洲推出。
As with Android, the Commission said Apple would need to give third-party assistants comparable access to key systems, features, and data to those of Siri AI. Apple argued that doing so “would be irresponsible” and create unacceptable privacy and security risks. The company said it asked the Commission for 18 months to build a compliant version and introduce the required interoperability on a “gradually rolling” basis. The Commission rejected that proposal.
与 Android 的情况一样，欧盟委员会表示，苹果需要向第三方助手提供与 Siri AI 相当的关键系统、功能和数据访问权限。苹果辩称，这样做“是不负责任的”，会造成不可接受的隐私和安全风险。该公司表示，它曾要求委员会给予 18 个月的时间来构建合规版本，并以“逐步推出”的方式引入所需的互操作性。但委员会拒绝了这一提议。
Apple still has no public timeline for when, or even whether, it plans to bring Siri AI to the EU and did not respond to The Verge’s request for comment. Google, meanwhile, just secured the very grace period for Gemini that Apple wanted for Siri AI: time to comply with the DMA while its AI assistant stays on the market.
苹果目前仍未公布何时（甚至是否）计划将 Siri AI 带入欧盟的时间表，也没有回应《The Verge》的置评请求。与此同时，谷歌刚刚为 Gemini 争取到了苹果为 Siri AI 所渴望的宽限期：即在保持人工智能助手在市场上架的同时，拥有符合 DMA 规定的时间。
The contrast may partly reflect where each company’s AI assistant stood when the DMA began shaping product decisions. Gemini has been the central pillar of Google’s AI strategy for years and has been widely distributed across the company’s product ecosystem, giving Google a strong incentive to stay in the market and figure out compliance with any laws later. Apple, meanwhile, unveiled its new Siri AI very recently and chose to withhold it from the EU, despite having had years to anticipate the DMA’s requirements during the product’s design.
这种对比可能部分反映了在 DMA 开始影响产品决策时，各公司人工智能助手所处的地位。多年来，Gemini 一直是谷歌人工智能战略的核心支柱，并已在其产品生态系统中广泛分发，这给了谷歌留在市场并随后解决法律合规问题的强大动力。与此同时，苹果最近才发布了新的 Siri AI，并选择不在欧盟推出，尽管它在产品设计期间有数年时间来预判 DMA 的要求。
Apple also chose to turn Siri AI’s absence into a political weapon, evidently hoping the court of public opinion would find in its favor and pressure Brussels to relax interoperability requirements. It did so publicly and repeatedly, taking the unusual step of dedicating part of its WWDC 2026 keynote to explaining why Siri AI won’t be coming to Europe, publishing a pointed blog post titled “Due to DMA, Siri AI delayed in EU for iOS 27 and iPadOS 27,” and holding media briefings on the issue. It relayed news that China was missing out on Siri AI through a one-sentence footnote. All of this served to cast Brussels, not Apple的产品 choices, as the reason for the delay.
苹果还选择将 Siri AI 的缺席变成一种政治武器，显然是希望舆论法庭能站在它这一边，并向布鲁塞尔施压，要求其放宽互操作性要求。它公开且反复地这样做，采取了不同寻常的举措，在 2026 年 WWDC 主题演讲中专门用一部分时间来解释为什么 Siri AI 不会进入欧洲，发布了一篇题为《由于 DMA，Siri AI 在欧盟的 iOS 27 和 iPadOS 27 上延迟推出》的尖锐博文，并就此问题举行了媒体吹风会。它通过一个单句脚注传达了中国也将无法使用 Siri AI 的消息。所有这些举措都旨在将布鲁塞尔——而非苹果的产品选择——描绘成延迟的原因。
It’s also possible that the split is less significant behind the scenes than it appears in public. Google and Apple both vehemently oppose the DMA’s interoperability demands, framing them as threats to privacy, security, and product integrity. The two companies have also worked together on integrating Gemini into Apple’s AI products, including Siri AI, making it plausible that they have remained in contact while exploring different ways to fight the same set of restrictions.
也有可能这种分歧在幕后并不像表面上看起来那么严重。谷歌和苹果都强烈反对 DMA 的互操作性要求，将其视为对隐私、安全和产品完整性的威胁。两家公司还在将 Gemini 集成到苹果的人工智能产品（包括 Siri AI）方面进行了合作，这使得它们在探索对抗同一套限制措施的不同方法时保持联系是合乎逻辑的。
For now, though, the difference is stark. Google has a year to bring Android into compliance while continuing to expand Gemini. Brussels denied Apple this kind of runway, and who knows when Siri AI will reach the EU.
然而就目前而言，这种差异是显而易见的。谷歌有一年的时间让 Android 实现合规，同时继续扩展 Gemini。布鲁塞尔拒绝给苹果提供这样的缓冲期，谁也不知道 Siri AI 何时才能进入欧盟。