EU Opens Major Antitrust Investigation For Google’s Data Use For AI

Google is in regulators’ crosshairs in Europe — again. The European Union has opened a formal investigation of the search giant, spotlighting its use of online content to train and power artificial intelligence systems. At the heart of the investigation is whether Google has unfairly used its dominant position in search and video to bolster its own AI offerings while limiting publishers and creators by making it difficult for them to move content between platforms or obtain revenue from other sources.

What the EU Is Investigating?

According to the European Commission, Google’s newer AI features, including AI Overviews and AI Mode in Search, may be using content from websites and news publishers without proper consent or compensation. Regulators are examining whether creators have meaningful control over how their content is used for AI training, or if opting out comes at the cost of reduced visibility on Google Search.

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A big issue here is what industry observers refer to as “Google Zero”. That’s in a world where Google answers questions directly with AI, without making people visit other websites. For publishers, it could result in a steep decline in traffic, ad business and overall importance.

YouTube and AI Training Under the Lens

The investigation also extends to YouTube. The Commission is looking into policies that reportedly allow Google to train its AI models on user-uploaded videos while blocking rival AI companies from accessing the same data. If confirmed, this could be viewed as using platform dominance to lock competitors out of critical training material.

At the core of the case is a simple question: can publishers and creators limit how their content feeds Google’s AI systems without being punished in rankings or discoverability?

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Why This Matters for Google

The EU has indicated the importance of this case, though no timetable for its resolution has been offered. Should Google be found to have violated EU competition law, the fines could be serious. Under European regulations, penalties can be as high as 10 per cent of global annual revenue, which would amount to about $35 billion using Alphabet’s 2024 earnings.

In its statement, the Commission said that, if proven, Google’s practices may violate rules that prohibit the abuse of a dominant market position under EU law.

For Google, this investigation goes right to the heart of its AI-powered future. For publishers and creators, it might mean the difference between AI as a shared ecosystem or a one-way street.