The EU’s mandates for Google Search could have more wide-ranging implications. Google will be forced to share search data with competing search providers, giving them a better chance of gaining market share and loosening Google’s iron grip on web search. The Commission alleges this action was necessary because Google’s past sharing offers have not gone far enough.
Under the new rules, Google will have to provide data to other search firms transparently and for a reasonable fee. Google will also have to treat AI chatbots as search services for the purposes of data sharing. The goal is for other companies to get access to search metrics similar to what Google itself sees, which EU regulators claim is essential for a smaller player to challenge Google’s dominance.
Google calls for “balance”
Google was vocally opposed to the EU’s new rules before they were finalized, and the company is not mincing words now that they’re final. Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs, claims Google offered more measured solutions that it believed could satisfy the DMA’s goals, but the path chosen by the European Commission goes too far and will harm users.
“Today’s decisions risk undermining vital privacy and security guardrails for millions of Europeans,” said Walker.
