The European Commission said Tuesday it will look into whether Google is breaking EU competition rules by not paying publishers enough or setting unfair conditions for excluding their content from the search engine’s AI-generated summaries.
“We are investigating whether Google may have imposed unfair terms and conditions on publishers and content creators, disadvantaging rival AI model developers,” said Teresa Ribera, the European Commission’s executive vice-president for competition. Said in a statement.
What do EU investigators want to know about Google’s AI results?
- If publishers and other content creators are fairly compensated for their data, including YouTube videos, it is used to train AI services
- If creators and publishers can exclude their data from models used to create AI-generated results without impacting access to other Google services
- If Google bans other AI developers from using YouTube videos to train their models in the same manner
Publishers have been critical of AI-generated summaries displayed at the top of search results, as they reduce the visibility of direct links to their content. This leads to a decline in revenue from ad sales due to decreased traffic to their sites.
Google: Inquiry ‘risks stifling innovation’
However, Google said the EU’s antitrust investigation could hinder innovation.
A Google spokesperson said, “This complaint risks stifling innovation in a market that is more competitive than ever. Europeans deserve to benefit from the latest technologies and we will continue to work closely with the news and creative industries as they transition to the AI age.”
In addition to AI-generated summaries, the company also launched an “AI Mode” that answers users’ questions in a direct, conversational manner rather than providing a list of links.
Publisher: Google breaks up Internet content deal
Saying that AI is “capable of bringing remarkable innovation and numerous benefits to people and businesses across Europe,” the Commission said access to and use of online content must remain fair for consumers and businesses in the 27-nation bloc.
“Google does not remind YouTube content creators for their content, nor does it [it] “Allow them to upload their content to YouTube without allowing Google to use such data,” the Commission said. Additionally, rival developers of AI models are barred by YouTube policies from using YouTube content to train their own AI models.
The Independent Publishers Alliance, a movement for an open web whose members include digital advertisers and publishers, criticized Google.
According to the Reuters news agency, Tim Cowen, a lawyer advising the groups, said, “Google has broken the deal that underpins the Internet. The deal was that websites would be indexed, retrieved and shown when relevant to the query. Everyone had a chance.”
Google may face huge EU fines
Tuesday’s investigation is the second investigation into Google’s business practices in less than a month.
The European Commission has launched several antitrust investigations against Google for alleged abuse of its dominant market position.
The company risks fines of up to 10% of its global annual revenue if found guilty of violating EU antitrust rules.
The Commission emphasizes that the initiation of an investigation does not prejudge its outcome.
Edited by: Louis Olofse