In an effort to completely dismantle the market monopoly of tech giants, the European Commission (EC) appears poised to unleash its most devastating weapon. According to the newly released draft of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the EU proposes requiring Google to share its most valuable asset—search engine data—with third-party competitors in a fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory manner.
Requires submission of core data: rankings, queries, clicks, and browsing history.
According to a new draft measure proposed by the European Commission, in order to allow third-party online search engines to compete with Google on a level playing field, the European Commission recommends that Google must allow these competing services access to its vast search database.
Specifically, the draft requires Google to disclose key data points to its competitors, including ranking, query, click, and view data. This data has always been a core asset that enables Google's algorithms to continuously optimize themselves and accurately target advertisements.
Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Clean, Fair and Competition Transition, is adamant: "Data is a key input for online searches and the development of new services, including those involving AI. Access to this data should not be restricted in any way that could harm competition. In a rapidly changing market, small changes can have a huge impact quickly. We will not tolerate any practices that could close the market or limit consumer choice."
The Digital Markets Act is taking effect, and Google's past compromises are now seen as "far from enough."
European regulators have been using the Digital Markets Act to curb Google's massive market position for several years.
Since March 2024, Google has been formally required to comply with the Digital Markets Act, and at that time Google cooperated with the regulations.Make some adjustmentsHowever, a year later (March 2025), the European Commission issued a ruling against Google.Preliminary charges filedThey believe that Google Search and Google Play Store have not yet fulfilled their obligations to compete in the market.
Although Google subsequently proposed some modifications to how search results are displayed, regulators clearly felt that these superficial interface tweaks were far from sufficient; what they wanted was a substantial opening up of the underlying structure of Google's search business.
The decisive battle is expected to end in late July, triggering fierce legal battles.
The draft is currently in its preliminary stage, and the European Commission will accept feedback from all sectors before May 1 this year. Google's large legal team will undoubtedly lodge strong protests and rebuttals during this period.
The final, legally binding ruling regarding Google's next steps is expected to be released before July 27th. Until then, a fierce tug-of-war between the two sides is inevitable.
