Google will face a European Union (EU) antitrust probe over allegations that it used web publishers' online articles and YouTube videos without permission to train its artificial intelligence (AI) models.
On the 9th (local time), the European Commission said, "Google is using its dominant position in the search market to impose unfair conditions on publishers and YouTube content creators," and "there are indications it used their content to develop its AI services without sufficient compensation."
The commission in particular believes Google effectively forced "use without consent" on publishers and incorporated their content into AI-generated summary services such as "AI Overview" without providing a real choice to refuse use. It also plans to investigate whether creators were not properly compensated when YouTube videos were used to train AI models.
Teresa Ribera, the EU commissioner for competition, said at a news conference in Brussels, "A free and democratic society is rooted in a diverse and independent media ecosystem," adding, "AI development must not undermine press autonomy and fair compensation systems."
The EU investigation stems from a complaint filed by the European Publishers Association in July. If the probe concludes that Google's conduct violates EU competition law, a penalty surcharge of up to 10% of its global annual revenue could be imposed.
Google pushed back immediately. A Google Spokesperson said, "Competition in the AI market is fiercer than ever," adding, "Such measures could stifle innovation and limit opportunities for European users to benefit from the latest technology." The Spokesperson added, "We will work closely with news outlets and creators so they can adapt in the AI era."
The EU recently also opened a separate antitrust investigation into Meta on suspicion that it blocked external AI chatbots on its messenger WhatsApp. Brussels is stepping up regulatory pressure on U.S. big tech, even at the risk of friction with the Joe Biden administration.