Google hit by EU antitrust probe over AI models

The EU has launched an antitrust probe against another American tech giant despite pressure from the White House and warnings from Google that the bloc is “stifling innovation.”

The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, has opened a formal antitrust investigation to determine whether Google is breaking competition rules with artificial intelligence (AI) summaries in its search results.

Brussels is specifically concerned that the tech giant does not adequately compensate web publishers for using their content in services such as AI Overviews and AI Mode, nor does it provide them with an option to opt out of such use without losing access to Google Search.

Many online publishers rely on Google Search for traffic and have been sounding alarm bells over AI features that lead to so-called zero-click searches, where users read information in summaries without ever visiting the websites that provide the content.

Additionally, the Commission said Google may have used videos and other content uploaded to YouTube to train its AI models without appropriately compensating creators or offering them the possibility to opt out of such use of their content.

At the same time, rival developers of AI models are barred by YouTube policies from using the content on the platform to train their own AI models, the Commission noted.

“A free and democratic society depends on diverse media, open access to information, and a vibrant creative landscape. These values are central to who we are as Europeans,” Teresa Ribera, the EU’s competition chief, said in a statement.

“AI is bringing remarkable innovation and many benefits for people and businesses across Europe, but this progress cannot come at the expense of the principles at the heart of our societies,” she said.

Google 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 era."

The probe against Google follows the launch of an antitrust investigation by the EU into Meta last week.

Meanwhile, a €120 million ($140 million) fine imposed on the social media platform X for failing to comply with the bloc’s digital laws has drawn criticism from both the site’s billionaire owner, Elon Musk, who said the EU must be “abolished,” and US President Donald Trump, who described the fine as “nasty.”

Trump and his top officials have long been critical of the EU’s efforts to regulate American tech giants, accusing Brussels of “censorship” and unfairly targeting US businesses.

The EU has dismissed such accusations, saying that its laws do not target any nationality and that it’s merely defending its digital and democratic standards.

TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, avoided paying a fine imposed by the EU in May for failing to maintain a public ad repository to help detect scam ads by pledging it would implement improvements.

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