EU Investigates Google's Current Deal With Samsung for Potential Antitrust Violation

The European Union (EU) antitrust regulators are seeking more details on Google's recent multi-year generative AI deal with Samsung due to a potential violation.

The European Commission said that it has sent requests for information about Google's partnership to integrate Gemini Nano into the Samsung Galaxy S24 series.

EU Seeks More Information Between Google, Samsung Partnership

According to the report, the inquiry will primarily address whether the pre-installation of Gemina Nano through the smartphone or the cloud will hinder other AI systems from being used on the same device.

The pre-installation could also pose the risk of limiting interoperability between other AI chatbots on Samsung devices. The industry participants are also asked to provide details on whether they have tried but failed to make deals with the device manufacturers to pre-install their chatbots after Google announced the partnership with Samsung.

"Another risk we see is that big tech companies could make it difficult for smaller foundation model developers to reach end users," said Margrethe Vestager, EU Commission executive vice president last June 28.

Samsung Announces Collaboration With Google for Galaxy S24 Series

Earlier this year, Samsung held its first Galaxy Unpacked event for 2024. The main highlight of the event is the launch of its new Galaxy S24 Series and Galaxy AI.

The electronic giant also announced its partnership with Google that would allow Google's advanced AI model, Gemini, to integrate with the new smartphone line. The collaboration is intended to bring new features that would enhance user experience through AI.

The Galaxy S24 series revealed that it utilizes Gemini Pro and Nano to deliver AI-powered tools. The Pro is commonly used for Samsung's native apps while Nano is focused on running on-device tasks like Google Messages and more.

The industry participants who are part of the survey are given until the end of the week to respond to the eight-page questionnaire.