Google challenges EU Android search engine orders

Google has asked Europe’s General Court to throw out two Digital Markets Act orders that would potentially force the tech giant to feed search data to its rival engines and let competing AI assistants run on Android systems with the same reach as its own Gemini. 

The appeals are focused on instructions issued by the European Commission in July under the DMA, which represents the EU’s rulebook for its largest tech platforms. One of the orders mandates Google to give competing search providers, including AI chatbots, access to the info users search for and click on, along with a January 2027 deadline.

The second order would require Google to open up parts of Android that currently give Gemini an advantage, allowing rival AI services to access features such as voice activation and the ability to carry out tasks within other apps.

Google’s privacy and security case

Google is presenting the appeal as a response to what it says are risks to users and not just the company’s concerns over market share. Oliver Bethell, Google’s senior director of competition, said the decisions would require the company to share users’ private search histories without adequate anonymization and equally weaken security protections on Android.

Bethell argued that search queries can reveal people’s most sensitive concerns, which could range from medical issues to personal relationships. He added that giving commercial rivals access to this information without stronger safeguards could cause “irreversible harm to user privacy.”

On Android, Google argues that the platform already supports third-party services, but giving outside apps elevated permissions without the same vetting applied by phone manufacturers could create new security risks and ultimately undermine the integrity of Android devices.

Brussels and DuckDuckGo push back

The European Commission, however, is standing by both rulings and plans to defend them in court. A spokeswoman said the measures already include safeguards for security and data protection. The anonymization requirements were also developed with privacy experts, while Google can refuse to share data with any company it considers a serious security or privacy risk.

DuckDuckGo, the privacy-focused search engine, has backed the regulator’s position. A spokesperson said the anonymization framework was sound and argued that Google’s appeal would do little beyond delaying the measures. Under EU rules, taking a Commission decision to court does not automatically suspend it. That means the 2027 deadlines will remain in place unless a judge orders otherwise.

Appeal case part of wider fight with Brussels

The cases are part of a broader dispute between Google and EU regulators. In July, the European Commission fined Google €890 million over two separate DMA breaches: €460 million for giving its own services preferential treatment in search results and €430 million for restricting app developers from directing users to cheaper options outside Google Play.

Google later changed how its European search results were displayed, a move it described as the biggest decline in search quality in its history. The changes gave greater prominence to price-comparison listings while removing features such as live pricing.

Alphabet is designated a DMA gatekeeper, a label that obliges it to take extra steps against suppressing competition. Non-compliance can cost a company up to 10% of its annual global revenue, which could potentially rise to 20% for repeat breaches. A ruling from the General Court is not expected anytime soon, and either side could still take the case to the European Court of Justice on appeal.

The pressure is also not confined to only Brussels. As Cryptopolitan reported on September 23, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has proposed forcing Google to show Android and Chrome users a choice of search services, including AI assistants like ChatGPT and Perplexity, with a final decision due by the end of 2026.

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