EU to force Google to share data and access with competitors

Google warns that new legal orders could put EU users’ privacy at risk.

The European Union is ordering Google to level the playing field for its competitors on two fronts in the latest attempt to curtail Big Tech dominance within the bloc.

A ruling from the European Commission means competitors must be given the same level of access to features on the Android operating system as Google enjoys in order to ensure that their AI services can compete with the likes of Gemini.

A second order asks the tech giant to offer third-party search engines access to search data that only Google can collect given its scale and reach.

The company has until January 2027 to begin sharing its search data, and until July 2027 to open up Android to competing AI providers.

These orders result from EU proceedings that try to detail how the bloc’s strict Digital Markets Act (DMA) rules should be implemented for proper compliance. The Commission began these particular deliberations in January.

In its decision yesterday (16 July), the EU argued that competing AI assistants on Android devices have restricted access to the operating system’s functionalities. Without full access, third-party providers are limited in how they offer their services, making them less attractive to 60pc of Android users in the bloc, the Commission said.

The order, the EU said, would ensure users can activate their preferred AI assistant via voice commands comparable to ‘Hey Google’ and use third-party AI agents on Android devices.

The Commission also wants Google to share anonymised search data with competing search engines – data that it would currently use to optimise its own services.

“[Google] was removing between 90pc and 100pc of unique search queries from the dataset” it had previously shared as part of a DMA compliance proposal, the EU said.

“It was also unduly restricting the potential pool of beneficiaries by excluding AI chatbots that provide search services. As a result, there has been no meaningful uptake by potential beneficiaries.”

Google, however, will maintain the right to assess privacy and security risks before sharing any data.

Kent Walker, Google and Alphabet’s president of global affairs, said that the orders “risk undermining vital privacy and security guardrails for millions of Europeans”.

“We have repeatedly offered solutions to safeguard users while satisfying the DMA’s goals, but these rulings discount extensive evidence of user harm.”

Walker argued that third-party AI assistants can already “safely” access Android functionalities. Phone manufacturers play a key role in vetting eligible AI providers, he added, and suggested the ruling “threatens device security by granting external apps sensitive and powerful device permissions without these safeguards”.

The latest ruling comes just as the EU is expected to hand the tech giant a major penalty over breaching the DMA with its tactics around search ranking and its app marketplace Google Play.

German publication Handelsblatt reported in May that the expected high triple-digit-million-euro penalty could be the highest fine imposed under the DMA since its enactment in 2022.

So far, Apple and Meta are the only companies to be penalised under the law, with Apple receiving a €500m fine last year – the highest penalty yet.

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Updated, 2:31pm, 17 July 2026: This article has been updated with background information in the final three paragraphs.