Alphabet is challenging Brussels rules requiring Google to provide rivals with anonymised search data and give competing AI assistants wider access to Android, but the appeals do not halt the compliance deadlines.
Alphabet has escalated its fight with Brussels by filing two appeals at the EU General Court in Luxembourg over European Commission orders that would force Google to share anonymised search data with rivals from January 2027 and open Android to competing AI assistants by mid-2027. The Commission’s measures, adopted on 16 July under the Digital Markets Act, are intended to give third-party AI services and rival search engines access to capabilities and data that remain closely tied to Google’s own products. According to the Commission, the goal is to improve competition while preserving user privacy and device security.
Google is arguing that the measures go too far. In comments reported by Euronews, Oliver Bethell, the company’s senior director for competition, said the orders would force Google to share private search history without sufficient anonymisation and would weaken important security protections on Android. The company’s legal challenge does not automatically suspend the rules, however, and EU procedure means the compliance deadlines continue to run unless the court grants interim relief, which is separate from the appeal itself.
The search-data order is one of the more technically sensitive parts of the dispute. The Commission’s framework requires Google to provide rivals with anonymised ranking, query, click and view data on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms. It also requires the data to be grouped into bundles of at least 1,000 users, with individual identifiers stripped out, rare or sensitive queries suppressed, and access limited to vetted recipients subject to independent audit oversight. Google says that still leaves privacy risks; the Commission says the safeguards are designed to reduce those risks materially and can be adjusted later if needed.
Android is the larger strategic battleground. The Commission’s July specification decision said rival AI assistants had been denied equal access to a set of device functions that Google reserves for Gemini, including voice activation, screen-context access, core app integration, background task execution and default-assistant status. The order requires those capabilities to be made available to qualifying third-party services in stages, with core interoperability due in Android 18 by August 2027 and fuller voice-activation support following in Android 19 by August 2028. That puts companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Perplexity in line to benefit if they meet the relevant safety and security checks.
The dispute comes amid a broader regulatory confrontation between Google and the EU. In July, the Commission issued its first fines under the Digital Markets Act, totalling €890 million, over search ranking and app-store steering practices. The Court of Justice also dismissed Google’s final appeal against the long-running Android bundling case earlier this year, reinforcing the legal theory that tying must-have services to a dominant platform can unlawfully foreclose competition. For Brussels, the current case is about putting that theory into practice in the AI era; for Google, it is about limiting how far the EU can go in rewriting the rules around search data and mobile assistants.
Disclaimer: This content is intended for informational purposes only. Readers are advised to exercise their own judgement, conduct due diligence, or consult a qualified expert before acting on any information provided.
