The dispute between Google and the European Union (EU) over search data has escalated. Google has challenged two EU orders. Under these orders, Google will have to share some of its services and search-related data with other companies.

Google appealed against these orders to the General Court of Luxembourg on 28 September 2026. The company says that if these rules are implemented, the privacy and security of European users could be affected.

What is the whole matter?

This matter is related to Europe’s Digital Market Act i.e. DMA. In July, the European Commission set some new rules for Google. Under this, it is said that other companies’ AI systems will be given better access to some of Android’s features. In addition, the rule has also been made to provide some anonymized Google search data to eligible competing search engines and AI systems that provide search features.

According to the EU, the move is so that other search companies and AI services can better compete with Google and give users more options. Rules related to sharing search data are set to come into effect from January 2027, while changes related to Android interoperability are set to come into effect from July 2027.

What worries Google?

Google says that people’s searches can be very personal. For example, a person may search Google for things related to their health, relationships, or other personal issues.

Company is concerned that if such data is not properly anonymized, it may reveal an individual’s identity or personal information. Oliver Bethel, Google’s senior director of competition, has also raised concerns about privacy and security around data sharing. Google also says that opening some of Android’s features to other companies could weaken security-related systems.

What data will other companies get?

Under EU rules, Google must share certain search data with other eligible companies. This may include information related to people’s search queries, ranking of search results, clicks and results viewed.

However, the European Commission says that users’ account details or their full search history will not be shared. Many changes will be made before the data is shared. Such as removing specific times, removing too long or too different types of searches, and generalizing location information. Simply put, such data will be provided to other companies so that they can improve their search services, but no specific individual will be identified.

The EU says privacy has been taken care of

The European Commission says that many rules have been put in place for privacy and security in data sharing systems. Data will be provided only to eligible companies that meet the prescribed conditions.

According to the commission, the data is to be used only to improve the search service. Companies cannot even attempt to identify users by combining it with other data. The EU says the move is intended to give other search and AI services a chance to make headway compared to Google Search.

DuckDuckGo supports EU regulations

DuckDuckGo, a search company that focuses on privacy, supported the EU’s stance. According to Reuters, the company says the system it built to anonymize Google search data provides sufficient security.

Now what happens next?

Google has now challenged the EU orders in court. Now the General Court will hear this case. The decision in the case could be important in determining how much of its services and data a big tech company must open up to other companies under the EU’s DMA rules, and how users’ privacy will be protected while doing so.

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