The European Commission has opened an investigation into Google over the use of publisher content for its AI products “without appropriate compensation”.
The antitrust investigation will examine whether Google’s use of publisher and Youtube content breached EU competition rules by imposing unfair terms and conditions or granting itself privileged access to that content.
The European Commission said this may have also placed other AI developers at a disadvantage, meaning Google abused its dominant position.
The decision to investigate follows a complaint made to the European Commission earlier this year by campaign group Movement for an Open Web, tech justice non-profit Foxglove and the UK’s Independent Publishers’ Alliance.
The coalition, supported by antitrust law firm Preiskel and Co, also submitted a complaint to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, accusing Google of causing “serious irreparable harm” to the news industry.
The CMA has since designated Google as a tech platform with “strategic market status” in relation to its search products, including AI Overviews and AI Mode, meaning new rules and regulations could be enforced.
AI Overviews are the AI-generated summaries that appear at the top of many search results pages, citing website sources to the right of the text. AI Mode is a separate tab that gives much longer, detailed answers to questions.
Both reduce the need for users to click through to websites to get the information they were looking for. Publishers from Forbes to Future are now implementing “Google Zero” plans to continue engaging users directly.
The European Commission said it is “concerned” Google may have used web content for AI Overviews and AI Mode in search results “without appropriate compensation to publishers and without offering them the possibility to refuse such use of their content”.
Publishers have repeatedly complained that they are unable to block Google’s AI bots without also effectively being removed from search results altogether.
Google AI Overviews labelled ‘double daylight robbery’
The European Commission is examining a similar issue in relation to content uploaded to Youtube also being used to train Google’s AI models.
It said: “Content creators uploading videos on Youtube have an obligation to grant Google permission to use their data for different purposes, including for training generative AI models.
“Google does not remunerate Youtube content creators for their content, nor does allow them to upload their content on Youtube without allowing Google to use such data.
“At the same time, rival developers of AI models are barred by Youtube policies from using Youtube content to train their own AI models.”
James Rosewell, co-founder of Movement for an Open Web, called for interim measures to protect publishers from further damage while the investigation is carried out.
He said: “Google’s AIOs are nothing more than double daylight robbery, stealing content from publishers to inform their models and then using these outputs to steal traffic from them.
“Smaller publishers are suffering badly and the Commission has recognised the need to act to preserve Europe’s content economy before its too late. This case isn’t about opposition to innovation – it’s about stopping a business model that’s built on theft and monopolistic dominance.
“What we need to see now is immediate action to stop the pain for publishers. We recognise that the investigation is going to take time to work through the evidence but in the meantime we need to see immediate interim measures giving publishers the ability to control their involvement in Google’s IP theft machine.”
The post Europe to investigate Google over use of publisher content for AI appeared first on Press Gazette.
