EU Draft Order Forces Google to Open Search Data to Rivals Under DMA

Europe’s demand that a dominant platform hand over proprietary data recalls the 1998–2001 U.S. v. Microsoft case, when regulators forced Microsoft to open up Windows APIs so Netscape and others could compete, and the EU’s 2000 “local-loop unbundling” rules that pried telecom infrastructure from incumbents. The current move fits a decades-long shift from after-the-fact antitrust fines to ex-ante data-access remedies aimed at curbing network-effect monopolies, especially as AI systems magnify the competitive edge conferred by massive behavior logs. Whether July’s decision sticks will signal if democratic governments can reassert sovereignty over digital infrastructure in the AI age; on a 100-year horizon it could mark either a seminal Standard-Oil-style breakup moment for data monopolies—or another footnote if enforcement falters and data gravity continues to centralize power.