Google warns EU’s plans to weaken its monopoly could expose user data

Next month, the European Commission is expected to unveil new rules targeting Google’s market dominance. The proposals include allowing Android users to integrate competing AI models with system-level access similar to Gemini, and forcing Google to share anonymized search data with rivals.

Heather Adkins, Google’s VP of security engineering, warned that these changes could lead to increased fraud and privacy breaches within weeks. She noted that anonymization is difficult, especially with modern AI tools, and that Google’s internal security team has de-anonymized search data in as little as two hours using “linkage attacks.”

The first requirement would end Gemini’s exclusive status as Android’s integrated AI, giving third-party AI models similar access to user files and screen content. The second would compel Google to provide competitors with granular search data, including query content, rankings, and click-through rates. Google argues that sharing such detailed data with smaller firms makes them targets for cyberattacks.

While Google frequently uses anonymized data internally and shares it with third parties of its choosing, it claims that the granularity required by the EU makes de-anonymization inevitable. The company’s opposition is framed as a privacy concern, though it also has clear business incentives. The European Commission is expected to issue a final binding decision on July 27 under the Digital Markets Act.