EU orders Google data
The European Commission has told Google to give rival search engines access to its search data — including data used by AI chatbots with search functions — as part of Digital Markets Act enforcement. (reuters.com) Reporting says Brussels has effectively handed Google a compliance 'to‑do list' aimed at forcing the sharing of search‑performance data, with effects on competition, AI assistants and privacy. (theregister.com) (domain-b.com)
The European Commission has told Google to share key Google Search data with rival search engines, including AI chatbots with search features, under the Digital Markets Act. (digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu) In preliminary findings sent on April 16, Brussels said Google should provide ranking, query, click and view data on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms, and opened a public consultation on the plan. (digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu 1) (digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu 2) The consultation runs until May 1, 2026, and asks for feedback on who can get the data, what data Google must hand over, how it must be anonymised, what prices count as fair, and how access should work in practice. (digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu) Search data is the record of what people type, what results they see, and what they click. The Commission said access to that data would let smaller search engines tune their systems and challenge Google Search more effectively. (ec.europa.eu) (digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu) The order reaches beyond classic search websites. The Commission said eligible recipients can include AI chatbots with search functionality, bringing tools that answer questions by pulling web results into the same enforcement track. (digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu) (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) Brussels opened these specification proceedings on January 27, 2026, to spell out how Alphabet must comply with Article 6(11) of the law. That article requires gatekeepers that run search engines to share anonymised ranking, query, click and view data with other search engines on FRAND terms. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) (digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu) The draft measures are unusually specific. A Commission case summary says Google would have to share all query, view, click and ranking data it collects to optimise search, exclude invalid traffic, provide an application programming interface or an equally effective tool, and give access at a frequency comparable to Google’s own internal access for at least five years. (ec.europa.eu) Privacy is central to the dispute because the data comes from real searches by real users. The Commission said the shared data must be anonymised with technical and contractual safeguards designed to reduce the risk that users could be identified again. (digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu) (ec.europa.eu) Google has already been under separate Digital Markets Act pressure over how it treats its own services in search results and over Android interoperability, including features used by Gemini. This new case adds a detailed compliance checklist for the data behind search itself. (theregister.com) (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) The next step is the consultation, not a final order. After reviewing responses from Google and other parties, the Commission can revise the measures before deciding what Alphabet must implement. (ec.europa.eu)
