EU Orders Google to Share Anonymized Search Data Under Digital Markets Act

The European Union (EU) Commission has ordered Google to share anonymized search data with rival search engines under the Digital Markets Act. This decision requires Google to provide better interoperability for companies using the Google Android operating system.

The EU Commission's clarification of how Google must give third parties access to data and features needed to improve their services is a key part of this week's decision. Competitors of artificial intelligence (AI) services will have the ability to compete with Google's AI services, such as Gemini, by having equal access to features on Google's Android devices by January 2027.

The ruling also outlines ways to anonymize data developed in collaboration with privacy experts and in line with the draft Joint Guidelines of the DMA and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by the Commission and the European Data Protection Board. The EU Commission will allow Google to evaluate whether sharing such data with a specific third party poses serious cybersecurity and data protection risks before sharing any data.