EU orders Google to share search data and open Android

The European Commission has ordered Google to share anonymized search data with competitors and open its Android operating system to rival artificial intelligence services, issuing the landmark mandates on Thursday, July 16, 2026, under the European Union's Digital Markets Act. The legally binding decisions aim to foster competition in digital markets and give users more choice, with full compliance required by 2027.

The first mandate requires Google to share anonymized ranking data, search queries, click-through metrics, and view data with third-party search engines and qualifying AI chatbots. The terms must be fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory. The EU stated this data sharing must begin by January 2027. The second mandate compels Google to provide rival AI services with equivalent access to Android's hardware and software features, matching the deep integration currently reserved for Google's own Gemini assistant. This would allow competing assistants to operate via voice commands and access system-level functions. Google has until July 2027 to implement these Android changes.

EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said the measures are intended to help emerging alternatives to...