Google warns EU data rules could expose search histories

The European Commission’s draft rules under the Digital Markets Act would require Google to share users’ anonymised search queries, click data and ranking information with rivals, and to grant competing AI services deeper access to Android devices. Google’s senior security officials, including David Lewis, Heather Adkins and Eugene Linder, say the proposed methods can be de‑anonymised in under two hours, making the data vulnerable to hackers and fueling fraud.

Google cautions that the changes could trigger a sharp rise in cyber‑crime across Europe once the final decisions are made, with the Commission expected to adopt binding measures by 27 July 2026. Competing search engines such as Brave acknowledge the privacy risk, while DuckDuckGo dismisses the alarm as manageable. The company argues that its contractual safeguards become ineffective once data is handed over to third parties.