On 16 July, the European Commission adopted a binding decision setting out how Google is to make anonymised search data available to competitors. This concerns information relating to search queries, rankings, clicks and impressions. Not only traditional search engines but also AI chatbots offering search functions will be eligible. The data is to be provided on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.
This marks a significant change in the enforcement of the EU’s Digital Markets Act. The decision is not another financial penalty, but a set of specific measures that Alphabet must implement. The Commission argues that Google has held over 90 per cent of the market in Europe for decades and is reinforcing its dominance through the scale of data used to improve search results. Brussels also assessed that the company’s earlier proposal removed between 90 and 100 per cent of unique search queries from the shared dataset, thereby limiting its value to competitors.
The significance of the decision will depend on the quality of the data, the price of access and timely implementation. Google is to prepare an anonymised dataset by November 2026 and submit a pricing proposal by January. The data may be used to develop search services, but not to train general-purpose AI models. The Commission has also provided for audits and technical safeguards to limit the risk of re-identification of users.
