(April 16): The European Union (EU) proposed measures to open up key Google data to rival search engines, including artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots, as the bloc seeks to rein in the power of the biggest US technology companies.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, sent so-called preliminary findings to Alphabet Inc’s Google to comply with the bloc’s flagship tech rules ahead of a final decision in late July, it said in a statement on Thursday.
The proposed measures under the bloc’s Digital Markets Act, or DMA, would give access to ranking, query, click and view data to enable third-party online search engines to “optimise their search services and contest Google Search’s position,” according to the Brussels-based commission. If adopted, they could entail opening up that data to Google’s biggest competitors in AI, such as OpenAI and Anthropic PBC.
The EU and its members are increasingly seeking to position themselves as the global technology police, seeking to regulate everything from AI to children’s access to social media. Various measures at enforcement have brought it into conflict with US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly denounced digital regulations that affect large American tech firms.
Google will “vigorously defend against this overreach,” which “jeopardises people’s privacy and securit,”, the company’s senior competition counsel Clare Kelly said in a statement.
In January, EU watchdogs announced they would review under the bloc’s flagship DMA whether Google is in compliance with strict laws on unlocking valuable search data — under fair terms — for rival search engines.
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The escalation comes as Google separately faces expected penalties under the DMA over allegations it unfairly favours in-house services across its sprawling search empire and for preventing app developers from steering consumers to offers outside of its Play Store.
The company is also being probed over concerns it unfairly demotes certain news results. The wave of EU scrutiny risks adding to €9.5 billion (RM44.25 billion) it faces in EU fines and could further hurt already fraught relations with the Trump administration.
The commission will gather feedback on the proposal before making a final, binding decision by July 27.
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