The European Commission said Tuesday it will look into whether Google is breaking the EU’s competition rules by not paying publishers enough or by setting unfair conditions to keep their content out of the search engine’s AI-generated summaries.
“We are investigating whether Google may have imposed unfair terms and conditions on publishers and content creators, while placing rival AI models developers at a disadvantage,” Teresa Ribera, the European Commission’s executive vice-president for competition affairs, said in a statement.
What do EU investigators want to know about Google’s AI results?
- If publishers and other content creators are fairly remunerated for their data, including YouTube videos, that is used to train AI services
- If creators and publishers can keep their data out of models used to create AI-generated results without affecting 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 visibility of direct links to their content. This leads to a drop in revenue from ad sales as traffic to their sites declines.
Google: Inquiry ‘risks stifling innovation’
Google, however, said the EU’s antitrust investigation could hinder innovation.
“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 era,” a Google spokesperson said.
In addition to the AI-generated summaries, the company also launched an “AI Mode” that responds to users’ questions in a direct, conversational manner rather than providing a list of links.
Publishers: Google broke the internet content bargain
While saying AI is capable of “bringing remarkable innovation and many benefits for people and businesses across Europe,” the Commission added that access to and use of online content needs to remain fair for consumers and businesses in the 27-country bloc.
“Google does not remunerate YouTube content creators for their content, nor does [it] allow them to upload their content on YouTube without allowing Google to use such data,” the Commission said. “At the same time, rival developers of AI models are barred by YouTube policies from using YouTube content to train their own AI models.”
The Independent Publishers Alliance, Movement for an Open Web, whose members include digital advertisers and publishers, criticized Google.
“Google has broken the bargain that underpins the internet. The deal was that websites would be indexed, retrieved and shown when relevant to a query. Everyone had a chance,” lawyer Tim Cowen, who advises the groups, said, according to Reuters news agency.
Google facing possible hefty EU fine
Tuesday’s investigation is the second into Google’s business practices in less than a month.
The European Commission has conducted several antitrust investigations against Google for alleged abuse of its dominant market position.
The company risks a fine of up to 10% of its global annual revenue if found guilty of breaching EU antitrust rules.
The Commission emphasized that the start of an investigation does not prejudge its outcome. (DW)