EU launches antitrust probe into Google’s data use for AI

The EU announced Tuesday it had opened a probe to assess whether Google breached antitrust rules by using content put online by media and other publishers to train and provide AI services without appropriate compensation.

The European Commission said the investigation would look into concerns that the US tech giant might be distorting competition by imposing unfair terms and conditions on publishers and content creators, or by granting itself privileged access to their output.

“A free and democratic society depends on diverse media, open access to information, and a vibrant creative landscape,” the European Union’s competition chief, Teresa Ribera, said.

“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”.

The commission, the European Union’s antitrust regulator, said the probe would focus on two issues.

It would look into whether Google used YouTube videos to train its generative AI models without adequately paying the creators who post the clips online — and without offering them the possibility to refuse such use of their content.

“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 probe would also check whether the firm used online content from other sites, such as newspaper websites, to provide generative AI-powered services, again with no compensation or possibility to opt-out.

This relates in particular to Google’s AI-generated summaries that pop-up in response to a user’s search query and to the firm’s “AI Mode” — a search tab similar to a chatbot which answers users’ questions, the commission said.

“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, in breach of EU competition rules,” Ribera said.

There is no deadline for the commission to complete its investigation and the opening of a probe does not prejudge its outcome. The company, however, risks a hefty fine.

By Agencies