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Google has challenged two European Union orders that require this technology giant to provide competitors with access to certain Android
features and Google Search data, arguing that the measures could put users’s privacy at risk and weaken security protections on Android.
The legal challenges, filed by Google with the Luxembourg-based General Court on Monday, escalate the company's dispute with EU regulators over how far authorities can go in forcing dominant technology platforms to support competing services.
The European Commission adopted the measures in July under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the bloc's legislation aimed at increasing competition in digital markets and limiting the advantages enjoyed by major technology platforms.
One of the measures concerns artificial intelligence. Google has been ordered to make certain services available to rival AI developers seeking to compete with its Gemini AI system. The other concerns online search and requires Google to provide eligible competing search services with access to specified search-related data.
Google says the requirements could have consequences for European users because search queries can contain highly personal information.
People may use search engines to look for information about medical conditions, relationships and other sensitive subjects, the company says. Oliver Bethell, Google's senior director of competition, said the company is challenging the decisions because it believes they could require private search information to be shared without sufficient anonymisation. Google has also raised concerns that the measures could weaken important security protections within Android.
The European Commission has rejected the suggestion that its requirements lack adequate safeguards. The EU executive, which enforces the DMA, says the measures contain protections designed to safeguard user privacy, device integrity and security while allowing competitors to gain access needed to compete.
Privacy-focused search company DuckDuckGo has backed the Commission's position, saying the anonymisation framework is robust and disputing Google's concerns about the safeguards.
The changes are expected to begin taking effect next year, meaning the court challenges could become an important test of the EU's approach to regulating powerful technology companies.
At the heart of the dispute is a difficult balance between competition and user protection. The EU wants dominant platforms to give rivals greater opportunities to develop competing products, while Google argues that opening its systems and data must not come at the expense of privacy and security.
The outcome of the cases could help define how the Digital Markets Act is applied to Googles search and AI businesses and could influence
The legal challenges, filed by Google with the Luxembourg-based General Court on Monday, escalate the company's dispute with EU regulators over how far authorities can go in forcing dominant technology platforms to support competing services.
The European Commission adopted the measures in July under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the bloc's legislation aimed at increasing competition in digital markets and limiting the advantages enjoyed by major technology platforms.
One of the measures concerns artificial intelligence. Google has been ordered to make certain services available to rival AI developers seeking to compete with its Gemini AI system. The other concerns online search and requires Google to provide eligible competing search services with access to specified search-related data.
Google says the requirements could have consequences for European users because search queries can contain highly personal information.
People may use search engines to look for information about medical conditions, relationships and other sensitive subjects, the company says. Oliver Bethell, Google's senior director of competition, said the company is challenging the decisions because it believes they could require private search information to be shared without sufficient anonymisation. Google has also raised concerns that the measures could weaken important security protections within Android.
The European Commission has rejected the suggestion that its requirements lack adequate safeguards. The EU executive, which enforces the DMA, says the measures contain protections designed to safeguard user privacy, device integrity and security while allowing competitors to gain access needed to compete.
Privacy-focused search company DuckDuckGo has backed the Commission's position, saying the anonymisation framework is robust and disputing Google's concerns about the safeguards.
The changes are expected to begin taking effect next year, meaning the court challenges could become an important test of the EU's approach to regulating powerful technology companies.
At the heart of the dispute is a difficult balance between competition and user protection. The EU wants dominant platforms to give rivals greater opportunities to develop competing products, while Google argues that opening its systems and data must not come at the expense of privacy and security.
The outcome of the cases could help define how the Digital Markets Act is applied to Googles search and AI businesses and could influence
