Google parent Alphabet on Monday took Brussels to court over two European Union orders that would force the search giant to open its Android devices to rival AI services and hand competing search engines access to its search data.
The Google logo at the VivaTech show in Paris on June 15, 2023. The Canadian Press/AP, Michel EulerThe European Commission issued both orders in July under the Digital Markets Act, the EU's gatekeeper law, which Brussels says exists to ensure fair competition and prevent monopolies in tech.
"We're appealing decisions that will force us to share people's private search history without sufficient anonymization and weaken vital security protections on Android," said Oliver Bethell, Google's senior director of competition.
"People use Search for their most personal questions - from medical worries to close relationships - and mandating we share these personal queries without adequate safeguards would cause irreversible harm to user privacy."
Google argues the data would go to unvetted businesses without users' knowledge or consent, and that once it leaves Google's systems, third parties could re-identify users and expose their personal lives, trade secrets, or sensitive government information. Advances in AI have made that kind of re-identification far faster and cheaper, the company adds.
As the Epoch Times notes further, the EU-enforced changes are set to kick in in January 2027.
