EU Orders Google to Share Search Data and Open Android to Rival AI Services

On 16 July 2026 the European Commission invoked the Digital Markets Act (DMA)—the EU’s 2024 competition law aimed at curbing “gatekeeper” platforms—to issue two binding specifications for Alphabet-owned Google. The DMA requires the largest digital platforms to provide fair, non-discriminatory access to core services, with the goal of expanding consumer choice and fostering innovation.

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The Commission’s decision obliges Google to (1) begin sharing anonymised search-query, click-through and ranking data with eligible rival search engines and AI chat-bots starting January 2027, and (2) make eleven Android system functions—currently reserved for Google’s Gemini assistant—available to competing AI services from July 2027. The measures also demand that Android users be able to invoke third-party assistants via voice commands, similar to the existing “Hey Google” trigger.

Google Ordered to Open Android Features, Search Data to AI Rivals Under EU RulesEU Orders Google to Share Search Data, Open Android to Rival AI Starting January Next Year — BigGo FinanceEU Orders Google To Open Android AI Features And Share Search Data Under Digital Markets Act: 21 Sources (Western Mainstream: 6) | NewsCord

• Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy at the European Commission, presented the rules.

Associated Press

• Kent Walker, President of Global Affairs for Google and its parent Alphabet, led the company’s public response.

Engadget

• The European Commission’s competition directorate oversaw the specification procedure that began in January 2026.

EU Orders Google to Share Search Data, Open Android to Rival AI Services

The DMA grants the Commission the power to levy fines of up to 10 % of a company’s worldwide turnover for non-compliance. Google has previously faced EU penalties totaling €8.2 billion for antitrust violations between 2017 and 2019, plus a €2.95 billion fine imposed in September 2025. Sources indicate a further fine could be announced as early as next week in a separate DMA investigation.

EU Orders Google to Share Search Data, Open Android to Rival AI ServicesFrance 24Euronews

The Commission argued that granting rivals access to Google’s data “will rebalance the playing field” and enable “emerging alternatives to Google Search and Google’s AI services, such as Gemini.” Google countered that the requirements “introduce unprecedented risks to user privacy, device security, and national security,” warning that “Europeans’ private searches would be exposed to unfamiliar companies, without adequate anonymisation… and without user knowledge or consent.” The company maintains that it has offered alternative safeguards that the Commission has dismissed.

EU Orders Google To Open Android AI Features And Share Search Data Under Digital Markets Act: 21 Sources (Western Mainstream: 6) | NewsCordGoogle Ordered to Open Android Features, Search Data to AI Rivals Under EU RulesAssociated Press

Industry analysts expressed concern that the rules could diminish, rather than expand, AI options. Dirk Auer of the International Center for Law & Economics warned that forcing Google to hand over deep system access may lead to fewer functional assistants in Europe. Kay Jebelli of the Chamber of Progress highlighted “well-documented privacy risks” that the Commission appears to overlook. Daniel Friedlaender of CCIA Europe cautioned that “promoting competition and consumer choice … should not override engineering reality and legitimate safety worries.”

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If implemented, the data-sharing mandate could allow competitors such as DuckDuckGo, Bing, OpenAI and Microsoft to improve search relevance by training on Google’s historic query data. The Android interoperability requirement could reshape the mobile assistant market, forcing device manufacturers to present users with a choice screen akin to the EU-mandated browser selector. Conversely, privacy advocates fear large-scale data exposure and potential national-security implications.

EU Orders Google To Open Android AI Features And Share Search Data Under Digital Markets Act: 21 Sources (Western Mainstream: 6) | NewsCord

While the Commission has signaled an imminent fine, the exact amount and timing remain unconfirmed. Additionally, the criteria for which AI services will qualify for Android integration, and how prominently they will be displayed, have not been disclosed.

EU Orders Google to Share Search Data, Open Android to Rival AI Starting January Next Year — BigGo Finance

• “Thanks to these measures we hope to see emerging alternatives to Google Search and Google’s AI services, such as Gemini, and that users in the EU can enjoy greater choice of services.” — Henna Virkkunen, EU tech chief

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• “introduce unprecedented risks to user privacy, device security, and national security.” — Kent Walker, Google head of global affairs

Euronews

• “Europeans' private searches would be exposed to unfamiliar companies, without adequate anonymisation of the data and without user knowledge or consent” — Kent Walker, Google head of global affairs

France 24

• “ “We have repeatedly offered solutions to safeguard users while satisfying the DMA’s goals, but these rulings discount extensive evidence of user harm.” — Kent Walker, Google head of global affairs

Brussels Signal

• “Google is the challenger in the AI assistant market. ChatGPT holds roughly 70 per cent of EU chatbot usage, and Anthropic has risen faster than anyone over the past year. The decision strips a secondary player of its main differentiator, namely ecosystem integration, and tilts the field toward firms that never needed one.” — Dirk Auer, Director of Competition Policy, International Center for Law & Economics

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• “Promoting competition and consumer choice are legitimate objectives, of course, but they should not override engineering reality and legitimate safety worries,” — Daniel Friedlaender, Senior Vice President, CCIA Europe

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