European Union: European Commission announced specification proceeding to support Google comply with obligation to share search data under Digital Markets Act

On 26 January 2026, the European Commission opened a specification proceeding into Google over its alleged failure to comply with the obligation to share search data under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Under Article 6(11) of the DMA, Google must grant third-party providers of online search engines access to anonymised ranking, query, click, and view data held by Google Search. The access must be provided on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms. The focus of the proceedings includes the definition of the data scope, the specific anonymisation methods employed, the conditions for access, and the eligibility of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot providers to access this data. The aim of the policy is to allow third-party search engine providers to optimise their services and offer users alternatives to Google Search through access to a useful dataset. The Commission expects to conclude the proceeding within 6 months of its opening. Within 3 months, the Commission will communicate its preliminary findings and draft measures to Google. Non-confidential summaries of these findings will be published to enable third parties to provide comments. The proceeding does not constitute a final finding of non-compliance but is without prejudice to the Commission's power to adopt a decision finding non-compliance or to impose fines and periodic penalty payments.