The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation to assess whether Google has breached European Union competition rules by using content from web publishers and YouTube for AI-related purposes.
According to the Commission, the investigation will examine whether Google is ‘distorting competition by imposing unfair terms and conditions on publishers and content creators’, or is granting itself ‘privileged access’ to such content, thereby potentially disadvantaging rival AI developers.
‘Terms and conditions’
“A free and democratic society depends on diverse media, open access to information, and a vibrant creative landscape,” commented Teresa Ribera, executive vice-president for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition. “These values are central to who we are as Europeans.
“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. This is why 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.”
Under investigation
Two main areas are being investigated by the Commission; firstly, the use of content from web publishers to generate AI-powered services on Google Search – particularly in the ‘AI Overviews’ and ‘AI Mode’ settings – and whether said publishers are receiving appropriate compensation and/or have the capacity to refuse its use.
Secondly, whether a system whereby videos and other content uploaded to YouTube are used train Google’s generative AI models offers appropriate compensation to creators, and/or the possibility to refuse the use of their content. Content creators uploading material to YouTube must grant Google permission to use their data, while YouTube policies also prevent rival AI developers from using its content to train their own models.
The investigation will assess whether these practices breach EU competition rules that prohibit the abuse of a dominant position (Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU’)) and Article 54 of the European Economic Area (‘EEA’) Agreement. Read more here.
