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Google has challenged two European Commission decisions requiring changes to how it shares Google Search data and how rival AI assistants can interoperate with Android. As of 2 October 2026, both actions are pending before the EU General Court; no ruling on their merits is established in the available court listings. The Search measure would provide eligible competitors with a limited, anonymised data set—not Google’s search algorithm or identifiable users’ search histories.
What Google is challenging
The cases are titled Alphabet and Google Ireland v Commission. The EU General Court’s InfoCuria listings identify them as T-638/26 and T-639/26 and give 28 September 2026 as the introduction date. The listings do not show which case number corresponds to which Commission decision, and the detailed legal grounds are not available in the sources reviewed.
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A contemporaneous Wall Street Journal report says Google appealed the Commission’s July 2026 decisions on Google Search data access and Android interoperability for rival AI services. The court listings establish that the cases are pending, not that the Court has ruled or suspended the measures. The available sources do not establish whether Google sought interim relief or whether any such request was granted.
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The Commission opened specification proceedings on 27 January 2026 to clarify how Alphabet should comply with existing obligations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). It adopted binding specification measures on 16 July. The measures concern separate provisions and address different competitive issues:
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| Measure | DMA provision and system | Who it is intended to help | What the Commission requires | Stated concern in Google’s objection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Search data access | Article 6(11); Google Search | Eligible third-party online search services, including AI chatbots with search functionality | Access to a specified set of anonymised search data on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms | Privacy and whether the data is sufficiently anonymised and protected |
| Android interoperability | Article 6(7); Android | Rival AI assistants | More equal access to Android features used by Google’s own AI services, subject to safeguards | Whether granting apps more powerful permissions could weaken device security |
The Commission’s rationale for the Search measure is that access to data Google uses to optimise its search service could help competitors improve their own search quality. It says Google Search has had a market share of “more than 90% for decades” in Europe; that is the Commission’s characterization, not an independently established measurement here. For Android, the Commission says 60% of EU users have an Android device. That, too, is a Commission-published figure.
What Google Search data would be shared—and what would not
The required data set is intended to cover anonymised ranking, query, click and view data from Google Search. The Commission’s described categories include end-user queries and relevant metadata, URLs that users viewed, interactions with results, and the positions of those results. The data may relate to both free and paid search, although URLs for paid results are removed.
This is not a requirement to hand over Google’s entire search index, its search algorithms, or its search technology. Nor does the Commission describe a transfer of identifiable account records or users’ complete search histories. It says the shared data is altered before access:
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- Account information and search histories are not shared, and precise timestamps are omitted.
- Some rare or unusually long queries are suppressed, while location information is generalised.
- Interaction durations are aggregated, and URLs for paid results are removed.
The Commission says its anonymisation design also removes direct identifiers and other identifying attributes, and groups records by location, device type and query language. Its FAQ describes a minimum group size of 1,000 users, with 95% of users in groups of at least 25,000. Those are design details and assessments published by the Commission; they do not settle Google’s argument about whether the safeguards are sufficient.
Who can qualify, and what recipients may do
The measure is aimed at operating search services, not at making Google Search data generally available for AI development. A recipient may use the data to develop and optimise its own search service—for example, to improve query understanding, spelling and related-query suggestions, ranking, retrieval and indexing.
The Commission says recipients may not use the data to train general-purpose AI models, improve unrelated services such as advertising or consumer profiling, or systematically reproduce Google’s results instead of building their own search technology.
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To qualify, a service must meet the Commission’s stated criteria, including:
- Having operated a search service in the EU for two consecutive years, or, for a newer entrant, having more than €50 million in capital investment.
- Having at least 50,000 monthly average users in the EU during the previous year.
- Meeting security, sanctions, data-handling and GDPR conditions for international transfers.
Recipients must undergo independent verification before access, within six months after starting to process the data, and annually thereafter. The Commission also describes contractual and organisational controls, a ring-fenced environment, restrictions on onward disclosure and re-identification, retention limits, integrity and confidentiality measures, and independent audits before access and at least once a year.
Why Google objects—and what the Commission says in response
A Wall Street Journal report reproduced on Reddit attributes Google’s appeal to concerns that the decisions would require it to share people’s private search history without sufficient anonymisation and weaken security protections on Android. The report says Google also argued that the Search data would go to commercial entities without sufficient protections, user knowledge or consent, and that giving downloaded apps powerful Android permissions could create security threats.
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The same report says a Commission spokeswoman responded that the Commission would defend its decisions, which it said carefully considered system integrity, security and personal-data protection. These are the parties’ competing positions, not findings by the General Court. The Commission also says the Search measure is backed by contractual and technical safeguards and that the measures will be reviewed every two years, with the possibility of reopening them if material facts change.
For Android, the Commission’s July announcement described the intended result as allowing users to activate their chosen AI assistant by voice and delegate app actions, such as booking a taxi or drafting relevant chat replies. It says this access remains subject to privacy, system-integrity and security safeguards. That is distinct from the Search data-sharing obligation: one concerns access to a defined data set for search competition, while the other concerns how third-party AI services work with Android features.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsHow the Search data price is supposed to be set
The Commission’s description does not set one public flat fee. Instead, the price is to reflect incremental costs plus a reasonable return on the capital strictly necessary to make the data available, capped by Alphabet’s weighted average cost of capital, subject to specified exceptional circumstances. Any exceptional additional margin may not exceed Google Search’s operating margin, and the Commission says it would not apply to micro, small or medium-sized enterprises.
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When access may become available
The Commission’s published implementation schedule sets these milestones. As of 2 October 2026, the November 2026 and January 2027 dates are still ahead:
| Milestone | Commission schedule |
|---|---|
| Alphabet submits eligibility materials and publishes application information | By the end of August 2026 |
| Template licence agreements and test samples made available; cost estimates submitted | By September 2026 |
| Anonymised data set finalised | By November 2026 |
| Pricing offer finalised | By January 2027 |
These are implementation milestones in the Commission’s schedule, not confirmation that competitors already have access. The pending court cases do not, on the available information, establish that the schedule has been stayed or changed.
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