What Happened
- The European Commission issued preliminary findings on April 16, 2026, specifying the precise data-sharing obligations Google must fulfil under the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA).
- Google is required to share specific categories of search data — including ranking, query, click, and view data — with third-party search engines and competitors on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.
- Access to this data must be structured and anonymised, not a blanket release of Google's raw search index.
- Significantly, the Commission explicitly included AI chatbots with search functionalities in the scope of entities entitled to access this data, treating conversational AI as direct competitors to traditional search.
- The Commission opened formal proceedings in January 2026; under the DMA's timelines, it must finalise proceedings within six months of opening, placing the enforcement deadline around late July 2026.
- Non-compliance with DMA obligations can result in fines of up to 10% of a company's global annual turnover, or up to 20% for repeat infringements.
Static Topic Bridges
EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) — Gatekeeper Framework
The Digital Markets Act was formally adopted by the EU on September 14, 2022, and entered into force on November 1, 2022, becoming applicable from May 2, 2023. It targets "gatekeepers" — large digital platform companies with entrenched market power — imposing specific obligations to ensure fair and contestable digital markets.
- DMA adopted: September 14, 2022; applicable from May 2, 2023
- Gatekeeper designation criteria: core platform services (e.g., search, social networks, app stores), large user base, durable market position
- Six gatekeepers designated (September 2023): Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, Microsoft — covering 22 core platform services
- Obligations include: interoperability with third parties, data access for business users, independent ad verification, freedom to uninstall pre-installed apps
- Penalties: up to 10% of global annual turnover; up to 20% for repeat infringements; structural remedies possible for systematic violations
Connection to this news: Google's search and advertising businesses are among the designated gatekeeper core platform services under the DMA, making Google legally bound to provide rivals access to search data under terms specified by the Commission.
Competition Law and Big Tech Regulation: India's Angle
India's Competition Act, 2002 (amended 2023) and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) address anti-competitive practices by dominant enterprises. The 2023 amendment introduced "significant digital enterprises" provisions to address digital markets, partly inspired by the EU's DMA approach. The CCI has previously investigated Google India and imposed penalties.
- Competition Act, 2002: India's primary competition law; CCI as regulator and adjudicator
- Competition Amendment Act 2023: introduced deal value thresholds for mergers; digital market provisions
- CCI vs. Google (2022): CCI imposed ₹1,337.76 crore penalty on Google for abusing dominance in Android ecosystem
- CCI vs. Google (Play Store, 2023): ₹936.44 crore penalty for restrictive billing policies in Play Store
- India's approach: case-by-case enforcement rather than ex-ante (pre-emptive) gatekeeper framework like the DMA
Connection to this news: The EU's DMA establishes a proactive, ex-ante regulatory model that mandates behavioural obligations before harm occurs, contrasting with India's reactive, ex-post competition enforcement. The DMA's scope extension to AI chatbots also has implications for how India may eventually regulate AI-integrated search services.
Data Portability and Search Engine Competition
Search engine market concentration is extreme globally: Google holds approximately 90% of the global search market. Search data — queries, clicks, and rankings — is the fuel that trains and improves search algorithms; access to this data by smaller competitors is essential for closing the algorithmic quality gap. Data portability and interoperability mandates are the DMA's structural solution to this problem.
- Google's global search market share: approximately 90% (2025)
- Search data types: query data (what users search), click data (what users click), view data (what search results appear), ranking data (how results are ordered)
- FRAND terms: Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory — a standard borrowed from intellectual property licensing
- AI chatbots now included: Commission treats AI chatbot search functions as competitors entitled to the same data access
Connection to this news: By specifying exactly which data types (ranking, query, click, view) Google must share, the Commission moves beyond principle to enforceable specifics, potentially creating the conditions for a more competitive European search market — and setting a global regulatory precedent.
Key Facts & Data
- EU Digital Markets Act: adopted September 14, 2022; applicable May 2, 2023
- Six designated gatekeepers: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, Microsoft
- Data Google must share: ranking, query, click, and view data
- Access terms: FRAND (Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory); structured and anonymised
- AI chatbots with search functions: included in scope of entities entitled to data access
- Proceedings opened: January 2026; deadline for finalisation: approximately July 2026
- DMA penalties: up to 10% global annual turnover; 20% for repeat violations
- India CCI penalty on Google (Android): ₹1,337.76 crore (2022)
- India CCI penalty on Google (Play Store): ₹936.44 crore (2023)
- Google global search market share: ~90%