EU Probes Google Over AI Overviews and YouTube Training

Alphabet’s Google is facing an EU antitrust investigation into its use of publishers’ online content and YouTube videos to train AI models, according to a report published by Reuters this Tuesday, December 9.

Google’s AI Practices Are Being Brought Into Question

The report noted that this is the second investigation into Google that the European Commission has started in less than a month. As such, it highlights growing concerns regarding Big Tech’s dominance in new technologies.

The EU authorities worry that this behavior could shut out competitors and lead to disruptions in the market, but could also escalate tensions with the US due to EU laws adopted over the last several years. Such laws have already been a pain point in relations with US authorities, and could continue to do so moving forward.

Commenting on the matter, the EU competition enforcer said it was concerned that Google may be using online content for AI-generated summaries known as AI Overviews. This is an issue because the company is not compensating publishers adequately for using their content, nor does it give them an option to refuse to allow their content’s use for such purposes.

The same concerns were brought up regarding Google’s use of YouTube videos that the platform’s users upload, as explained by EU antitrust chief, Teresa Ribera.

Ribera said: “Google may be abusing its dominant position as a search engine to impose unfair trading conditions on publishers by using their online content to provide its own AI-powered services.”

She also added that a healthy information ecosystem depends on publishers having the resources to produce quality content. “We will not allow gatekeepers to dictate those choices,” she highlighted.

Google’s Use Of AI Breaks The Deal That The Internet Is Based On

Previously, Google rejected the complaint by independent publishers in July of this year, which was what led to the first EU investigation. At the time, the company’s spokesperson said that the complaint risks stifling innovation in a market that is more competitive than ever, arguing that Europeans deserve to benefit from the latest technologies. They added that Google intends to continue working closely with the news and creative industries as they transition to the AI era.

However, Google also saw criticisms from the Independent Publishers Alliance, Movement for an Open Web, and British non-profit Foxglove. Lawyer Tim Cowen, who advises the groups, said that the tech giant has broken the bargain that underpins the internet. The deal was that sites would be indexed, retrieved, and shown when relevant to a query, thus giving everyone a chance.

Now, however, a Google search puts AI answers first and even exploits website content to train Gemini, adding insult to injury.