Google challenges EU orders to open up to AI, search-engine rivals

Business Recorder reported that Google has appealed two European Union orders that would compel it to open access for search competitors and AI developers such as OpenAI. The directives, issued by EU antitrust regulators in July under the Digital Markets Act, cover services linked to its Gemini AI model and the sharing of search data. Google filed the challenges with the Luxembourg-based General Court on Monday.

The company contends that the required steps would expose personal search histories without adequate anonymisation and weaken protections on Android. Oliver Bethell, Google's senior director for competition, said in a statement that the orders would cause lasting harm to user privacy. According to the European Commission, which oversees the Digital Markets Act, both measures contain strong protections for privacy, device integrity and security.

The dispute reflects a wider disagreement over the reach of the Digital Markets Act, a law designed to curb the power of large technology firms. The changes take effect next year, and the privacy-focused search company DuckDuckGo, which says it does not track users' searches or personal data, has backed the EU watchdog. A DuckDuckGo spokesperson said the anonymisation framework is solid and that an appeal would only postpone the outcome for Google.