Google sues EU over orders opening Android's Gemini features to rivals

Google filed two lawsuits at the EU General Court in Luxembourg on Monday, challenging orders the European Commission issued in July under the Digital Markets Act, according to The Next Web. One covers Android access for rival AI assistants, the other covers sharing search data with competitors.

The Android order requires Google to give rival assistants access by August 2027 to 11 features now exclusive to Gemini, including voice activation and the ability to act inside apps, according to the report. The search order requires anonymised query data to be shared with eligible search engines and AI chatbots from January 2027.

Oliver Bethell, Google's senior director of competition, said in a statement: "Mandating we share these personal queries without adequate safeguards would cause irreversible harm to user privacy." Google also argues the orders could weaken Android security. It says Android is already open and interoperable.

The Commission maintains that both decisions protect privacy and device security, according to the report. It says the anonymisation measures were developed with privacy experts. Google can refuse access to companies that pose a genuine threat. DuckDuckGo backed the EU, saying legal challenges only delay implementation.

Filing a suit does not automatically suspend the decisions, so the 2027 deadlines stand unless the court intervenes. The orders do not decide whether Google breached the Digital Markets Act and carry no fines, and both remain open to judicial review, according to the reports.