The European Union has ordered Google to share portions of its search data with competing search engines and open its Android operating system to rival artificial intelligence services, marking another major regulatory step under the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).
The European Commission said Google must begin sharing search data by January 2027, while Android users should start benefiting from expanded access to competing AI services by July 2027.
EU officials say the measures are designed to boost competition and give consumers greater choice by making it easier for alternative search engines and AI assistants to compete with Google’s products, including its Gemini AI platform.
Under the new requirements, Android users should be able to set competing AI assistants as their default voice service, allowing them to respond to voice commands in a manner similar to Google’s own assistant.
Google strongly criticized the decision, arguing it could compromise user privacy, device security and national security. Kent Walker, the company’s President of Global Affairs, said the rules could expose Europeans’ search data to third-party companies without sufficient safeguards.
European officials rejected those concerns, saying the shared data would be anonymized and that privacy and security protections had been built into the framework.
The order is legally binding under the Digital Markets Act, the EU’s landmark legislation aimed at limiting the dominance of the world’s largest technology companies by requiring them to open their platforms to greater competition.
The decision also comes as Google faces continued regulatory pressure in Europe. According to reports, the European Commission could issue additional penalties against the company next week in a separate Digital Markets Act investigation.
Under the legislation, companies found to be in breach of the rules can face fines of up to 10% of their global annual revenue.
Google has already been fined billions of euros by the European Union in previous antitrust cases, including €8.2 billionbetween 2017 and 2019 and an additional €2.95 billion in a separate competition ruling last year.
