Enable API parity for third-party AI on devices

# We Made This Mistake Once (App Store). Let's Not Make It Again. **TL;DR:** Google, Apple, Samsung, and Microsoft are bundling mandatory AI into hardware using the exact same anticompetitive playbook that created the App Store monopoly. Except this time, they're not controlling what you install — they're controlling how you think. **EU petition to enforce existing competition law:** [https://www.openpetition.eu/petition/online/mandate-ai-interoperability-and-consumer-choice-in-the-european-union](https://www.openpetition.eu/petition/online/mandate-ai-interoperability-and-consumer-choice-in-the-european-union) # What's Happening (Documented Facts) **The Scale:** * **Samsung:** 800M devices with mandatory Google Gemini in 2026 ([Reuters, Jan 5](https://www.reuters.com/world/china/samsung-double-mobile-devices-powered-by-googles-gemini-800-mln-units-this-year-2026-01-05/)) * **Apple:** Rebuilding Siri on Google Gemini infrastructure, Spring 2026 launch ([Bloomberg](https://mashable.com/article/apple-siri-may-be-powered-by-google-gemini)) * **Microsoft:** Copilot+ PCs require 40+ TOPS NPU — now standard across Dell, HP, Lenovo ([Microsoft docs](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/ai/npu-devices/)) * **Market:** 1.25 billion smartphones shipped globally in 2025 ([IDC](https://my.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS53965725)) **Translation:** Nearly every new consumer device will ship with hardwired AI from one of three companies within 18 months. # The Anticompetitive Conduct (From US Court Documents) **April 2025 US antitrust proceedings revealed:** 1. **Google pays Samsung** monthly since Jan 2024 to preinstall Gemini ([Court testimony](https://www.androidcentral.com/apps-software/android-os/google-paid-samsung-hefty-amounts-of-money-to-preinstall-gemini)) 2. **Google blocked Motorola** from offering Perplexity AI as default despite Motorola wanting it ([Perplexity exec testimony, April 23](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/google-blocked-motorola-use-of-perplexity-ai-witness-testifies)) 3. **Revenue-sharing agreements** financially penalize OEMs if they don't meet "placement obligations" for Google AI ([Court analysis](https://www.medianama.com/2025/09/223-googles-oem-agreements/)) **Google's own admission (2017 internal study):** Default placements drove 54% of search revenue. *"The more friction it takes to change defaults, the stickier defaults are."* # Why This Is Worse Than the App Store **The App Store monopolized distribution.** **AI bundling monopolizes cognition.** When your device's AI becomes your search proxy, email summarizer, calendar manager, writing assistant, and decision advisor — you're not using a tool. The tool is using you to train itself. **The competition problem:** 1. **Architectural lock-in:** Pre-installed AI gets system-level APIs, hardware acceleration (NPU priority), and on-device training data third parties can never match 2. **Financial coercion:** OEMs lose revenue if they offer alternatives — even after antitrust "fixes" 3. **Data asymmetry:** Default AI trains on your behavior from day one. Switching means starting from zero — no personalization, broken integrations **Result:** You technically have "choice" with structural impossibility of competition. # EU Law Already Prohibits This **Digital Markets Act, Article 6** ([Official text](https://www.eu-digital-markets-act.com/Digital_Markets_Act_Article_6.html)): Gatekeepers (Apple, Google, Samsung, Microsoft — all officially designated) **must:** * **Art 6(3):** Allow uninstallation of pre-installed software * **Art 6(3):** Allow users to change default settings * **Art 6(5):** Not self-preference their own services * **Art 6(7):** Provide effective interoperability to third parties **Current reality:** * ❌ Can't fully uninstall bundled AI without losing functionality * ❌ Third-party AI can't access same hardware/OS features * ❌ Financial deals privilege gatekeeper's AI **This is textbook DMA violation. Enforcement is pending while the architecture deploys.** # The Browser Wars Playbook Microsoft bundled Internet Explorer. Killed Netscape. Got sued. Took **years** to unwind. By the time regulators understood the App Store monopoly, architectural lock-in was irreversible. **We're watching it happen again in real-time. Except now the monopoly is over inference — the layer that filters information and shapes decisions.** # What You Can Do # 1. Sign the EU Petition [**https://www.openpetition.eu/petition/online/mandate-ai-interoperability-and-consumer-choice-in-the-european-union**](https://www.openpetition.eu/petition/online/mandate-ai-interoperability-and-consumer-choice-in-the-european-union) **Demands:** * Mandatory API parity for third-party AI (equal hardware/OS access) * True uninstall rights without losing device functionality * Revenue disclosure for all AI bundling deals * Data portability (export AI history to competitors) * Immediate DMA enforcement investigation # 2. File Individual EU Competition Complaints **These actually matter.** The Commission tracks complaint volume. **Competition law complaint:** * Form: [Form C, Annex](http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32004R0773:EN:NOT) * Email: [comp-market-information@ec.europa.eu](mailto:comp-market-information@ec.europa.eu) * Cite: Anticompetitive bundling, foreclosure, abuse of dominance **DMA breach report:** * Portal: [https://ec.europa.eu/law/application-eu-law/report-breach/](https://ec.europa.eu/law/application-eu-law/report-breach/) * Cite: Article 6(3), 6(5), 6(7) violations [Guide to filing complaints](https://competition-policy.ec.europa.eu/antitrust-and-cartels/procedures/complaints_en) # 3. Spread This * Crosspost to [r/privacy](https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/), [r/Europe](https://www.reddit.com/r/Europe/), [r/StallmanWasRight](https://www.reddit.com/r/StallmanWasRight/), [r/Android](https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/), [r/Apple](https://www.reddit.com/r/Apple/) * Share on LinkedIn/Twitter and tag [u/EU\_Commission](https://www.reddit.com/user/EU_Commission/), [u/vestager](https://www.reddit.com/user/vestager/), competition journalists * Local tech/consumer rights organizations # Why This Matters The App Store took 10 years to regulate. We don't have 10 years this time. AI bundling embeds deeper than apps ever did. Once a billion people use the same AI by default: * Competing models can't access comparable training data * Network effects concentrate irreversibly * The feedback loop locks: more users → better model → more users → monopoly **Control the AI layer, control human cognition at scale.** This isn't speculation. Court documents prove the conduct. EU law already prohibits it. Enforcement is the only variable. **Act before architectural lock-in becomes permanent.** **Petition:** [https://www.openpetition.eu/petition/online/mandate-ai-interoperability-and-consumer-choice-in-the-european-union](https://www.openpetition.eu/petition/online/mandate-ai-interoperability-and-consumer-choice-in-the-european-union) **File EU complaint:** [comp-market-information@ec.europa.eu](mailto:comp-market-information@ec.europa.eu) **All sources documented in petition and verifiable from court filings, manufacturer announcements, regulatory texts.** **Discussion guidelines for this thread:** * Keep it factual — cite sources * Focus on competition law and market structure * No conspiracy theories — stick to documented conduct * Share jurisdiction-specific enforcement mechanisms Let's not repeat the App Store mistake. The architecture is deploying **right now.**