EU asks Google to share search data
The European Commission told Google it should allow third-party search engines access to its search data, including for AI chatbots with search features, under the Digital Markets Act. Separately, Google reported that Gemini systems helped block 8.3 billion ads in 2025 and suspend 24.9 million advertiser accounts as part of large-scale enforcement. (reuters.com, blog.google)
Europe’s top regulator told Google on April 16 that it should open key search data to rival search engines, including AI chatbots that answer with web results. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) The European Commission said Google should share ranking, query, click and view data on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms under the Digital Markets Act. The proposal also covers how often Google must share the data and how personal information must be anonymized. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) Brussels opened a public consultation on Friday, April 17, and Reuters reported the Commission is aiming for a final decision in July 2026 after sending Google preliminary findings this week. Google said it would fight the measures and argued they go too far and could hurt user privacy. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) (reuters.com) The case sits inside the European Union’s Digital Markets Act, a law built to force the biggest online platforms to give rivals a fairer shot. The Commission designated Alphabet as a “gatekeeper” on September 6, 2023, and opened a formal specification proceeding on Google’s search-data duties on January 27, 2026. (digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu 1) (digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu 2) Google already runs a European Search Dataset Licensing Program that says eligible online search engines can get anonymized search data directed at European users. The Commission’s April proposal shows Brussels wants to define more clearly who qualifies, what data must be included, and what prices Google can charge. (developers.google.com) (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) The AI angle is new to the public fight. The Commission said “data beneficiaries” can include artificial intelligence chatbots with search functions, which would extend access beyond classic search engines to products that answer questions by pulling from the web. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) Google published a separate report the same day showing how central AI has become to another part of its business: policing ads. The company said Gemini-powered systems stopped more than 99% of policy-violating ads before they ran in 2025. (blog.google) In that 2025 Ads Safety Report, Google said it blocked or removed more than 8.3 billion ads and suspended 24.9 million advertiser accounts. It also said the systems targeted scams, blocking 602 million scam-linked ads and suspending 4 million scam-related accounts. (blog.google) Google said Gemini analyzes signals such as account age, behavior and campaign patterns, and that the newer models cut incorrect advertiser suspensions by 80% last year. The report also said most Responsive Search Ads were being reviewed instantly by the end of 2025, with harmful content blocked at submission. (services.google.com) (blog.google) Both moves land in the same week for the same reason: search data and AI systems are becoming harder to separate. Brussels is trying to pry open Google’s search advantage, while Google is telling advertisers and regulators that its own AI is now essential to keeping its platforms usable. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) (blog.google)
