/PRNewswire/ -- On Wednesday, the European Commission released two mandatory directives under the Digital Markets Act compelling Google to enhance accessibility for competitors on its Android and Search platforms. The directives require Google to grant third-party artificial intelligence assistants equal access to essential Android capabilities alongside its own AI offerings and to provide sensitive Google Search information to competing search engines and AI-driven search tools.

In response to the EC announcement, David B. McGarry, Research Director of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, offered the following statement:

"The European Commission has issued a clear signal: do not succeed. When technology firms innovate effectively or deliver products markedly superior to rivals, regulators intervene. Google, after years of continuous innovation and a legitimate competitive edge, must now hand over sensitive operational details to support competitors. Intellectual property and trade secrets appear to carry little weight with European Union officials.

"Yet the situation is more troubling still. The EC will force Google to share sensitive search data with rivals, information users provided to Google under expectations of privacy. These details may reach not only European firms but also entities influenced by geopolitical adversaries such as China. While attempts to manufacture competition are misguided enough, risking the national security of America and its allies crosses a further line. The consequences will affect Europeans as well as Americans traveling or living in the European Union, including government and military staff.

"The continent is approaching a breaking point. Its stringent regulations will ultimately fracture the internet as currently known, at least for users in Europe. After stifling domestic innovation, European authorities are pushing American technology companies away.

"If European leaders lack the resolve to change direction, as appears likely, American policymakers, particularly in the Trump administration, should apply strong diplomatic pressure to safeguard American tech firms, users, and national security interests."

The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis, and dissemination of information on the government's impact on the economy.