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Brussels (ANSA) – The European Commission has launched an antitrust investigation to verify whether Google has violated EU competition rules by using, for the development of artificial intelligence, the content of online publishers and videos uploaded to YouTube. Brussels aims to determine whether Google has distorted competition by imposing unfair contractual conditions on publishers and content creators, or by securing privileged access to this content, with possible negative effects on competing AI model developers.
The European Commission fears that Google has improperly used the content of online publishers to power its own generative artificial intelligence services (“AI Overviews” and “AI Mode”) shown on search results pages, without offering publishers adequate remuneration and without allowing them to refuse the use of their content without losing access to traffic from Google Search, on which many depend.
Similar concerns also apply to videos and other content uploaded to YouTube to train Google’s generative AI models, again without compensating creators or allowing them to object. Those who upload content to YouTube, Brussels points out, are obliged to grant Google permission to use it also for AI training without, however, receiving any payment.
“A free and democratic society is based on diverse media, free access to information and a dynamic creative landscape. These values are central to our identity as Europeans,” stressed the vice president of the EU executive, Teresa Ribera, warning that “AI is bringing extraordinary innovations and many benefits for citizens and businesses across Europe, but this progress cannot come at the expense of the principles on which our societies are founded.”
The antitrust investigation will be conducted under a priority procedure: if confirmed, the unfair practices would constitute an abuse of a dominant position (9 December).