Google appeals EU order to hand search data to rivals. Sharing was due in January

Google filed appeals at the EU General Court in Luxembourg on 29 September, Euronews reported. The company wants the court to cancel two orders the European Commission issued in July under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the EU law for the largest online platforms. The first order deals with Google search data: from January 2027, Google would have to pass it to rival search engines.

Google says users’ searches would leave its servers

Oliver Bethell, Google’s senior director for competition, said the orders would force it to share “people’s private search history without sufficient anonymisation”. He warned of “irreversible harm to user privacy”. Nick Fox, a Google senior vice president, said queries handed to other firms could be exposed to hacking.

The Commission says the data will be anonymised before it leaves Google. Google will also be allowed to check each recipient for security and data protection risks. Google already runs a paid route to the same data: in September it set out the rules for rivals that want to license its EU search data.

Android has until July 2027 to open Gemini features to rival assistants

The second order covers Android phones. Rival AI assistants would get the same access to phone features that Gemini has today. Users could call them up by voice or ask them to carry out tasks in other apps. Google says the change weakens security on Android.

The Commission can fine Google up to 10% of its global revenue

Under the DMA, breaking an order can cost up to 10% of a company’s annual global revenue. Repeat breaches can cost up to 20%. The Commission can also add daily penalties of up to 5% of average daily turnover. In a separate case in July, it fined Google €890 million for favouring its own services, according to Euronews.

The DMA has already changed what people see in Google’s European results. Google stopped showing flight and hotel prices in EU search results and dropped free product listings across Europe.

The open question is what happens in January 2027. If the General Court has not ruled by then, Google will have to choose between sharing the data and risking a fine while its appeal runs.