Google Challenges EU DMA Orders on Search Data and Android AI, September 28 2026: What Law Teams Must Do

Google’s senior director of competition, Oliver Bethell, said the company is appealing decisions that would “force us to share people’s private search history without sufficient anonymisation and weaken vital security protections on Android.” The Commission says the measures include safeguards for privacy, device integrity and security. The clash is now in Europe’s second-highest court.

This overview is not legal advice. DMA duties, national implementations and court interim-relief standards should be reviewed with qualified EU counsel.

What orders did Google take to court?

Reuters reported that EU antitrust regulators ordered Google in July to help online search rivals and AI developers use services available to Gemini under the DMA. One measure covers sharing of ranking, query, click and view data with eligible search competitors, including qualifying AI chatbots, with sharing to begin in January 2027. The second measure, grounded in DMA interoperability language that reporters tie to Article 6(7), aims to let third-party assistants on Android activate by voice and perform in-app tasks with access comparable to Gemini. User-facing Android changes have been described as due in July 2027. Google argues anonymisation and Android security controls are insufficient. The Commission says safeguards are built in.

Does the lawsuit stop the clock?

Under standard EU procedure, an action for annulment at the General Court does not automatically suspend the decision. A separate application for interim measures is required, and those are granted only against a high bar. Counsel should assume January 2027 search-data sharing and 2027 Android changes remain the working dates unless and until the court says otherwise. That is the operator fact, not the political headline.

Why does this matter outside Google’s legal department?

If the orders stand, rival search engines and some AI chatbots gain a structured feed of Google search interaction data. That changes competitive intelligence, index quality and possibly the bargaining position of publishers who already live with DMA and copyright rules. If the orders are stayed or narrowed, those rivals cannot staff a 2027 integration on a wish. Android assistant vendors face the same fork: build to the Commission’s interoperability picture or wait. Privacy officers at any company that might receive query-level data need a lawful-basis and minimization memo now, not after the first file lands. This case also sits beside other 2026 Google matters — the U.S. ad-tech remedy that refused a breakup, and the Commission’s July fine of €890 million in a separate DMA enforcement action — so boards will ask for a single map of DMA, U.S. antitrust and privacy exposure rather than three disconnected updates.

What should in-house law and compliance teams do this week?

Build a one-page timeline: July 2026 Commission measures, September 28 filings, January 2027 search-data start, July 2027 Android user-facing changes. Identify whether your company is a potential data recipient, an Android assistant vendor, an OEM, or only a customer of Google Search and Play. Recipients should pre-draft data-processing and security terms that match the Commission’s safeguard language so contract negotiation is not the long pole. Android assistant vendors should list the Gemini-parity features they would actually use (voice activation, in-app actions) and the engineering cost if access arrives on schedule. Privacy counsel should separate “anonymised ranking data” from “query text that can re-identify a user” and write the difference in plain language for the board. Do not instruct product teams to stop DMA workstreams solely because a court file exists.

What to watch next?

Watch for an interim-measures request and any General Court scheduling order. Watch Commission comments on whether it will seek daily penalty payments if Google misses 2027 dates during the appeal. Watch whether other designated DMA gatekeepers file parallel challenges on interoperability. None of those events is a reason to delete the 2027 calendar entries.

Son Güncelleme / Last Updated: September 30, 2026. Related: Sen. Warren Probes Big Tech AI Tax Subsidies · Apple $5.7 Billion Haptics Patent Verdict · Law hub