WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The European Commission has launched a formal antitrust investigation into Google, amid concerns that the search giant may have utilized web publishers' content and YouTube uploads to develop its artificial intelligence services.
The investigation will assess whether Google imposed unfair terms on publishers and content creators, or granted itself privileged access to data needed to train its AI models, potentially disadvantaging rival AI developers.
Regulators are focusing on Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode features, which generate summaries or conversational answers directly on Search. The Commission will investigate to what extent the generation of AI Overviews and AI Mode by Google is based on web publishers' content without providing appropriate compensation, and without offering publishers the option to refuse without losing access to Google Search. Indeed, many publishers depend on Google Search for user traffic, and they do not want to risk losing access to it.
The probe will also cover whether video and other content uploaded on YouTube is used to train Google's generative AI models without appropriate compensation to creators and without offering them the possibility to refuse such use of their content. Creators are not compensated for this use, nor can they upload content without accepting these terms. Meanwhile, YouTube policies prevent competing AI developers from using similar data, potentially reinforcing Google's market power.
Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera said, 'A free and democratic society depends on diverse media, open access to information, and a vibrant creative landscape. 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.'
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