Google asks EU court to pause search-data sharing order

Google asks judges to pause the data order

Google has asked the EU General Court in Luxembourg to suspend the search-data order while its main challenge proceeds [6][7].

For rivals, the stakes are access: eligible search engines and AI chatbots would get anonymised query, click and ranking data from January 2027 [6][7]. Whether the court grants a pause is still unknown.

Google filed two challenges at the same court, Europe's second-highest, on Monday 28 September [2][3][10]. It filed both cases that day, challenging the Android order and the search-data order together [1]. The cases target two orders the European Commission adopted under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) [4]. The Commission opened specification proceedings in January and adopted binding measures on 16 July [6]. The filings escalate a clash over how far the DMA can reach into Google's products [2][10]. Under EU law, going to court does not by itself suspend a Commission decision, so the 2027 deadlines stand unless judges say otherwise [1].

Google argues that compliance measures designed to open up competition would come at the cost of user privacy and security [2][10].

If the orders survive, eligible search engines and AI chatbots get anonymised query, click and ranking data from January 2027 [6][7]. Rival assistants would also get the same Android access as Gemini by August 2027 [1]. The court has not said whether it will grant a pause. It is also unknown how strictly the eligibility and auditing rules will apply.

What Brussels ordered

From January 2027, Google must give eligible search engines and AI chatbots that offer search access to anonymised ranking, query, click and viewing data [6][7]. The terms must be fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory, under Article 6(11) of the DMA [6].

By August 2027, rival AI assistants must get the same access as Gemini to 11 Android phone features, including voice activation and the ability to perform actions inside apps [1]. The Commission said users would start benefiting from the Android changes from July 2027 [5][7]. It gave the example of a third-party assistant triggered by a voice command like "Hey Google", or one delegated to book a taxi [4].

Access is not open to anyone [6]. Applicants generally need at least 50,000 average monthly EU users in the previous year [6]. They must also accept independent auditing and process the data inside the European Economic Area [6]. The Commission can exclude applicants that present public-security risks [6]. It noted that 60% of phone users in the EU carry an Android device [4]. Brussels wants the data to help rivals improve their own engines, including privacy-focused alternatives [4]. Generative AI products increasingly answer questions directly instead of sending users through a list of results. That puts AI developers and traditional search engines into direct competition [6].

Privacy argument against entry barriers

Google's senior director of competition Oliver Bethell said the orders would force the company to share private search history without sufficient anonymisation and weaken Android security [2][11].

"People use Search for their most personal questions, from medical worries to close relationships," Bethell said [2][11]. "Mandating we share these personal queries without adequate safeguards would cause irreversible harm to user privacy." [2][3][10]

The Commission said it took note of the challenge and will defend its decisions in court, arguing the measures protect personal data, device integrity and security [11]. It also said its anonymisation measures were designed with privacy experts [1]. Google can refuse data to any applicant posing a serious security or privacy threat [1].

DuckDuckGo, whose search engine does not track users, backed the regulator [3][10][11]. A spokesperson said the anonymisation framework is strong and that an appeal only buys Google time [3][10][11].

The outcome will shape how the DMA applies to AI products. Google says the orders treat privacy as an afterthought; the Commission says the safeguards were built in from the start [1][11].

Brussels argues Google has accumulated a quantity of search information that competitors cannot readily reproduce. That creates a substantial entry barrier for newcomers [6].

The wider DMA clash

The case adds another front to a difficult relationship. In July the Commission imposed two DMA fines on Google totalling 890 million euros [6]. One concerned Google's treatment of its own services in search results, the other restrictions on app developers steering users to alternative offers [6].

The dispute later widened when President Donald Trump threatened a Section 301 trade investigation in response to the EU penalties [6].

Commission executive vice president Henna Virkkunen said the measures were meant to bring alternatives to Google Search and Gemini and give EU users greater choice [4][5].

What happens next

The January 2027 data-sharing deadline and the 2027 Android deadlines stand unless the court orders otherwise [1].

The Commission said the decisions remain subject to independent judicial scrutiny [5]. The ruling on the pause will decide whether the January 2027 deadline holds.