EU opens new probe demanding Google share AI and search data with rivals
BRUSSELS – European Union regulators on Tuesday launched a formal process to ensure Google complies with the bloc’s Digital Markets Act, requiring the tech giant to provide competitors with access to its Gemini AI services and search data.
The European Commission, the executive arm of the 27-nation bloc, opened a "specification proceeding" to determine how Google must grant third-party AI companies and search engines fair and reasonable access to its software features and data from Google Search.
The proceeding will also evaluate whether AI chatbot providers qualify for access to this search data. While not yet a formal investigation, the process is mandated to conclude within six months with draft measures that Brussels will impose on Google.
Google representatives expressed concern that the rules, which often stem from competitor complaints, could undermine user privacy, security, and innovation.
Saigon Sentinel Analysis
The European Union’s latest maneuvering against Google represents far more than a technical dispute; it is a decisive escalation in the enforcement of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) within the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence landscape. Brussels is signaling a clear strategic objective: preventing entrenched "gatekeepers" from leveraging their legacy search dominance to monopolize the next frontier of AI.
The pivot toward "specification proceedings" highlights a newfound regulatory proactivity. Rather than issuing broad mandates for "fairness," the European Commission is moving to dictate the specific technical architecture of how data and services must be shared. This transition marks the end of an era defined by corporate self-regulation, ushering in a period of prescriptive oversight where regulators, not engineers, define the rules of engagement.
By forcing Google to open its massive search data repositories to third-party AI developers, Brussels is making a forward-looking bet. EU regulators recognize that the future of information retrieval is shifting away from traditional indexed links toward conversational AI. By mandating data interoperability now, the Commission aims to cultivate a pluralistic AI ecosystem before the market reaches a point of irreversible consolidation.
Google’s response—invoking the dual shields of privacy and innovation—follows a familiar Big Tech playbook for resisting regulatory intervention. However, this confrontation exposes a fundamental tension in the digital economy: the clash between the EU’s vision of a leveled, competitive playing field and Google’s preference for a vertically integrated, controlled ecosystem. The outcome of this standoff will likely determine whether the AI era is defined by open competition or the continued hegemony of a few incumbent titans.