The latest regulatory flexing by Brussels risks antagonizing President Donald Trump’s administration, though EU officials denied they were singling out American Big Tech companies.
The European Commission, which is the 27-nation bloc’s top antitrust enforcer, said it’s examining whether Google has breached competition rules through its use of content from web publishers and material uploaded to YouTube for AI purposes.
Regulators are concerned that Google has given itself an unfair advantage by using content for two search services, AI Overviews and AI Mode, without paying publishers and content creators or letting them opt out. AI Overviews are automatically generated summaries that appear at the top of its traditional search results, while AI Mode provides chatbot-style answers to search queries.
They’re also examining whether Google uses videos uploaded to YouTube under similar conditions to train its generative AI models, while shutting out rival AI model developers.
Officials said they’re seeking to determine whether Google gained an edge over AI rivals by imposing unfair terms and conditions, or giving itself privileged access to content.
“This complaint risks stifling innovation in a market that is more competitive than ever,” Google said in statement. “Europeans deserve to benefit from the latest technologies and we will continue to work closely with the news and creative industries as they transition to the AI era.”
