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EU Sets Out Draft Rules for Google to Share Search Data With Rivals

The plan would open Google’s search trove to approved competitors on fixed terms to jump‑start real competition in AI‑driven search.

A Google logo is seen at a company research facility in Mountain View, California, U.S., May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo

Overview

  • The European Commission, which unveiled the measures Thursday, proposed giving third-party search engines and AI chatbots access to Google data on queries, rankings, clicks, and views.
  • The draft spells out what data is covered, how often it must be supplied, how it must be anonymized, who qualifies for access, and how prices can be set.
  • Regulators opened a consultation that runs until May 1, with a binding decision targeted for July.
  • Google said it will fight the proposal, arguing it overreaches, threatens user privacy and security, and is being pushed in part by OpenAI.
  • Under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, designated gatekeepers face remedies and fines up to 10% of global revenue, and Google was charged under the law in March 2025 after earlier EU antitrust penalties totaling €9.71 billion.