Google under twin pressure
Europe’s regulators told Google it must open up access to search data for rival engines and AI chatbots under the Digital Markets Act, a move aimed at loosening Google’s data advantage. (reuters.com). At the same time Google is changing how it fights ad abuse—using Gemini‑powered tools to block more ad content before users see it while suspending fewer advertisers, according to its Ads Safety reporting and recent coverage. (techcrunch.com)
Google is getting squeezed on two fronts: Europe wants its search data opened to rivals, while Google is tightening ad policing with more AI and fewer account bans. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) (blog.google) On April 16, the European Commission sent Google preliminary findings under the Digital Markets Act that would require access to Google Search data for third-party search engines, including artificial intelligence chatbots with search features. The Commission opened a public consultation on April 17 and said interested parties can comment until May 31. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) (reuters.com) The EU proposal says Google should share ranking, query, click and view data on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms, while protecting privacy and trade secrets. Google said the measures are “far-reaching and invasive,” and senior competition counsel Clare Kelly said the company would keep engaging with the Commission. (reuters.com) (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) At the same time, Google said its Gemini-powered safety systems blocked or removed 8.3 billion ads in 2025, up from 5.1 billion in 2024. It suspended 24.9 million advertiser accounts, down from 39.2 million a year earlier, while stopping more than 99% of policy-violating ads before they ran. (blog.google) (techcrunch.com) Google said the shift reflects more precise enforcement: AI is catching bad ads at the content level instead of shutting down entire advertiser accounts as often. The company said Gemini also helped it act on four times as many user reports as the year before and suspend more than 700,000 offending advertiser accounts after reviewing scam signals. (services.google.com) (blog.google) Those two developments land as Google is already under separate Digital Markets Act pressure in search. In March, the Commission said Google Search and Google Play were breaching the law, with potential fines of up to 10% of global annual turnover if violations are confirmed. (reuters.com) (ec.europa.eu) The search-data fight is partly about who gets to build answers on top of Google’s index as AI chatbots start acting like search engines. The ad-safety shift is about who bears the cost when automated systems decide an ad is bad but an advertiser account can stay active. (reuters.com) (techcrunch.com) Google says broader data sharing could expose sensitive information and reduce incentives to invest in search, while the Commission says the measures are meant to make Google’s search engine data accessible to eligible rivals. In ads, Google says better AI lets it remove harmful material faster without over-penalizing legitimate businesses. (reuters.com) (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) (blog.google) Europe’s consultation runs through May 31, and Google’s ad report turns the company’s own numbers into a second test of how much control it can keep while regulators and users demand more visibility. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) (blog.google)
