Something big just happened. As the Open Home Foundation’s Android developer for Home Assistant, I was invited by the European Commission (EC) to consult on Android interoperability. The call for feedback was part of the Commission’s work under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). For anyone unfamiliar, the DMA is an EU law that defines and regulates “gatekeeper platforms” – those that offer “core” services like search engines, app stores, and messaging platforms – to make digital markets fairer and more open to competition. As you might imagine, I had plenty to say about Google’s restrictions on Android, especially the tech giant limiting wake word detection to its own Gemini assistant, a concern I surfaced in our Home Assistant 2026.3 Release Party. To put it plainly, Google had no grounds for limiting Android interoperability in the first place, other than to give itself the upper hand. We knew our community deserved better, and that’s what we told the Commission.
The result? The EC listened to us and all the other organizations that contributed. On July 16, 2026, the European Commission adopted a decision under the DMA that requires Alphabet (Google’s parent company) to open up eleven Android features, including always-on wake word detection, ambient sensor access, and screen automation – to all assistants, on equal terms.
As an EU citizen, I’m genuinely pleased to see this kind of regulation of Big Tech leveling the digital market playing field and representing real progress for users. Not only that, but it’s a real win for the Open Home Foundation: we exist to fight for privacy, choice, and sustainability in smart homes, and this outcome shows what’s possible when we advocate for our community. We already briefly covered this news in our July newsletter, but I want to take some time now to break down how we got here, what this decision says, why it matters for our community, and what it could unlock for Home Assistant and the rest of the industry.
