Google has filed an appeal against the European Union's ruling that obligates the company to provide search data to competitors and open the Android operating system to competing artificial intelligence services, citing privacy concerns.
On Tuesday, Google announced its appeal against the EU decision, which requires sharing data with other search engines and allowing alternative AI services in Android. The reason for this is the company's concern about protecting users' private information.
This order was issued by Brussels in July under the European Union's flagship Digital Markets Act (DMA). This law requires the world's largest technology companies to ensure competition by offering users more choices.
Oliver Bethhell, Google's Senior Director for Competition, stated: 'We are challenging decisions that will force us to share people's personal search history without sufficient anonymization and weaken vital security measures in Android.'
In July, the European Commission ruled that Google must begin transferring search data starting in January 2027 to 'level the playing field.' Changes to Android are set to take effect in July of next year, and Brussels expressed hope that they will lead to the emergence of alternatives to Google's AI services, such as Gemini.
However, Google objected, arguing that Android is already an open and compatible system, and the EU decision forces the company to transfer private search data to other firms without proper anonymization, user knowledge, or consent.
Bethhell emphasized: 'People use Search for their most personal questions—from medical issues to intimate relationships—and the requirement to share these personal queries without adequate guarantees will cause irreversible damage to user privacy.'
The appeal was filed with the Court of Justice of the European Union, based in Luxembourg.
