The battle between Google and the European Union is intensifying. Google has challenged two European Union orders that require the company to provide certain service and search-related data to other businesses.
Google filed its appeal before the General Court in Luxembourg on September 28, 2026. The company argues that implementing these requirements could create privacy and security risks for European users.
What is the dispute about?
The case is linked to the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA), which aims to prevent dominant technology companies from using their market power to limit competition.
In July, the European Commission introduced additional requirements for Google. One of the key measures requires Google to make certain anonymised Search data available to eligible rival search engines and AI-powered search services.
The EU has also ordered Google to improve interoperability between certain Android features and third-party services.
The search-data sharing rules are scheduled to take effect in January 2027, while the Android interoperability requirements are expected to apply from July 2027.
Why is Google concerned about privacy?
Google argues that search queries can reveal highly personal information. People may search for topics related to their health, relationships, finances or other private matters.
The company therefore believes that even anonymised search information could potentially create privacy risks if it is not handled carefully.
Google has also raised security concerns about giving other companies greater access to certain Android features. According to the company, opening up some systems could potentially weaken protections built into the Android ecosystem.
What search data could be shared?
Under the EU's requirements, eligible companies could receive certain anonymised information related to Google Search. This may include:
- Search queries
- Search-result rankings
- Links or results clicked by users
- Search results that users viewed
However, the European Commission says Google's users' account information and complete individual search histories will not be handed over.
The EU has also proposed safeguards before the information is shared. These include removing precise timestamps, filtering unusually long or unique queries and generalising location information.
EU says user identity will be protected
The European Commission maintains that privacy protections are an important part of the system.
Only companies meeting specific eligibility requirements will be able to access the data. They will also be restricted from combining the information with other datasets to identify individual users.
The EU's argument is that carefully anonymised data can help rival search engines and AI services improve their products while creating more competition in the search market.
DuckDuckGo supports the EU's approach
Not every company has opposed the EU's decision. Privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo has backed the move, arguing that the proposed anonymisation system provides sufficient protection for users.
This highlights the larger debate surrounding the issue: whether data generated by a dominant platform should be made available to competitors to encourage competition, and how this can be done without compromising user privacy.
What happens next?
Google's legal challenge will now be considered by the General Court in Luxembourg.
The case could have consequences far beyond Google. Its outcome may help determine how far regulators can go in requiring dominant technology companies to open access to their data and services under the Digital Markets Act.
