BRUSSELS: Google is taking the European Union to court over demands that it open its search data and AI services to rivals, a move the tech giant claims would expose users’ most sensitive online activity.
The legal challenge filed Monday with the Luxembourg-based General Court escalates a growing standoff over digital competition rules. Alphabet’s Google argues the compliance orders carry unacceptable privacy and security risks for European users.
EU regulators invoked the Digital Markets Act in July, ordering Google to give online search competitors and AI developers access to services linked to its Gemini AI model. The rules target major technology platforms and their market behavior.
As a result, Google now faces a direct conflict with Brussels over how far the DMA reaches. The company maintains that measures intended to boost competition would come at the expense of user protections.
The contested changes would take effect in 2027. Google lodged its appeals with Europe’s second-highest court in late September.
Oliver Bethell, Google’s senior director of competition, said the company opposes sharing private search history without sufficient anonymisation. He also warned the orders would weaken Android’s security defenses.
“People use Search for their most personal questions, from medical worries to close relationships,” Bethell said. Mandating access to those queries without adequate safeguards would cause irreversible harm to user privacy, he argued.
The European Commission counters that both orders include strong protections for privacy, device integrity, and security. DuckDuckGo, the privacy-focused search firm, sided with regulators.
“The anonymisation framework is robust and no amount of manufactured doubt changes that,” a DuckDuckGo spokesperson said. “The only thing an appeal buys Google is time.”
The court challenge now moves through Luxembourg’s legal system, with both sides preparing for what could become a landmark test of Europe’s digital competition authority.
