EU orders Google to share search data, open Android to rival AI

The European Commission has ordered Google to share its search data with competitors and allow Android users to select alternative AI chatbots for voice commands. Under the legally binding mandate, data sharing must begin in January 2027, with the Android changes taking effect in July 2027.

The order, issued under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), is designed to break Google’s grip on the search and artificial intelligence markets. "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," EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said.

Google has sharply criticised the intervention, warning it will compromise personal security. The company's head of global affairs, Kent Walker, accused Brussels of "undermining vital privacy and security guardrails for millions of Europeans".

The core dispute centres on how search data will be handled once it leaves Google's systems. Walker argued that forcing the company to share this information means "Europeans' private searches would be exposed to unfamiliar companies, without adequate anonymisation of the data and without user knowledge or consent". A senior European official rejected this, insisting the EU "took integrity, security and privacy into utmost account" and promising the data would be anonymised.

For the broader tech sector, the ruling clarifies the DMA's role as a tool to force incumbents to hand over the foundational data needed to train rival AI models. This could significantly lower barriers to entry for European startups trying to compete with American tech giants. However, the law remains a point of geopolitical friction, with Donald Trump's administration previously accusing Brussels of unfairly targeting US companies.

Because this is a binding order rather than a formal probe, it does not carry immediate financial penalties. Yet Google's regulatory exposure in Europe is escalating rapidly. Sources indicated the Commission could hit the company with a separate DMA fine as early as next week.

Any penalty under the DMA can reach up to 10 percent of a company's global turnover. Google is no stranger to such sanctions, having incurred 8.2 billion euros in competition fines between 2017 and 2019, followed by a further 2.95 billion euro penalty last September.