Google Faces EU Antitrust Complaint Over AI Overviews Feature

Google faces EU antitrust complaint over AI Overviews | TechCrunch

A group known as the Independent Publishers Alliance has filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission over Google's AI Overviews, according to Reuters. The complaint accuses Google of "misusing web content for Google's AI Overviews in Google Search, which have caused, and continue to cause, significant harm to publishers, including news publishers in the form of traffic, readership and revenue loss." It also says that unless they're willing to disappear from Google search results entirely, publishers "do not have the option to opt out" of their material being used in AI summaries. It's been a little over a year since Google began adding AI-generated summaries at the top of some web search results, and despite some early answers that were spectacularly off-base, the feature continues to expand, to the point where it's reportedly causing major traffic declines for news publishers. Google told Reuters that "new AI experiences in Search enable people to ask even more questions, which creates new opportunities for content and businesses to be discovered." The company also argued that claims about web traffic are often based on incomplete data, and that "sites can gain and lose traffic for a variety of reasons."

Google Hit With EU Antitrust Lawsuit Over AI Summaries

Google has been hit with an antitrust lawsuit in the European Union over its AI Summaries feature, introduced to Google Search last year, Reuters reports. A nonprofit organization called the Independent Publishers Alliance, which represents a group of unnamed publishers, alleged that "Google's core search engine service is misusing web content for Google's AI Overviews in Google Search." The complaint to the EU Commission alleged that since the service was introduced last year it has caused "significant harm to publishers, including news publishers in the form of traffic, readership and revenue loss." Rosa Curling, a director at Foxglove, a UK-based legal nonprofit that co-signed the complaint, dubbed the tool an "existential threat" to independent news. She urged the European Commission and other regulators worldwide to enable publishers to opt out of AI Summaries. The complaint was shared with major regulators outside the scope of the European Commission, with the UK's Competition and Markets Authority confirming receipt of the document, according to Reuters. Google has clapped back at some of the allegations against it, saying these claims were based on incomplete data. "The reality is that sites can gain and lose traffic for a variety of reasons, including seasonal demand, interests of users, and regular algorithmic updates to Search," a Google spokesperson told Reuters. Publishers taking serious legal action against AI giants is nothing new; it's been over two years since the New York Times launched its lawsuit against ChatGPT maker OpenAI, alleging it was unfairly using its content to train its AI models. Since then, numerous household names in journalism and publishing have launched their own lawsuits against tech firms launching AI tools, including The Wall Street Journal and New York Post. Google AI Summaries have attracted criticism for more than potentially depriving publishers of income. The feature has caught plenty of flak for producing inaccurate search results, including saying that dogs play in the NBA and that 19th-century US President Andrew Jackson graduated from college in 2005. EU regulators have shown a willingness to take a firm hand with Google before, hitting the company with more than 8 billion euros (roughly $8.6 billion) in fines so far, including a record 4.34 billion euro (about $4.7 billion) penalty in 2018. If you're interested in a more classic browsing experience, check out PCMag's guide to turning off the AI Summaries feature.

Exclusive: Google's AI Overviews hit by EU antitrust complaint from independent publishers

BRUSSELS, July 4 (Reuters) - Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google has been hit by an EU antitrust complaint over its AI Overviews from a group of independent publishers, which has also asked for an interim measure to prevent allegedly irreparable harm to them, according to a document seen by Reuters. Google's AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries that appear above traditional hyperlinks to relevant webpages and are shown to users in more than 100 countries. It began adding advertisements to AI Overviews last May. The company is making its biggest bet by integrating AI into search but the move has sparked concerns from some content providers such as publishers. The Independent Publishers Alliance document, dated June 30, sets out a complaint to the European Commission and alleges that Google abuses its market power in online search. "Google's core search engine service is misusing web content for Google's AI Overviews in Google Search, which have caused, and continue to cause, significant harm to publishers, including news publishers in the form of traffic, readership and revenue loss," the document said. It said Google positions its AI Overviews at the top of its general search engine results page to display its own summaries which are generated using publisher material and it alleges that Google's positioning disadvantages publishers' original content. "Publishers using Google Search do not have the option to opt out from their material being ingested for Google's AI large language model training and/or from being crawled for summaries, without losing their ability to appear in Google's general search results page," the complaint said. The Commission declined to comment. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority confirmed receipt of the complaint. Google said it sends billions of clicks to websites each day. "New AI experiences in Search enable people to ask even more questions, which creates new opportunities for content and businesses to be discovered," a Google spokesperson said. The Independent Publishers Alliance's website says it is a nonprofit community advocating for independent publishers, which it does not name. The Movement for an Open Web, whose members include digital advertisers and publishers, and British non-profit Foxglove Legal Community Interest Company, which says it advocates for fairness in the tech world, are also signatories to the complaint. They said an interim measure was necessary to prevent serious irreparable harm to competition and to ensure access to news. Google said numerous claims about traffic from search are often based on highly incomplete and skewed data. "The reality is that sites can gain and lose traffic for a variety of reasons, including seasonal demand, interests of users, and regular algorithmic updates to Search," the Google spokesperson said. Foxglove co-executive director Rosa Curling said journalists and publishers face a dire situation. "Independent news faces an existential threat: Google's AI Overviews," she told Reuters. "That's why with this complaint, Foxglove and our partners are urging the European Commission, along with other regulators around the world, to take a stand and allow independent journalism to opt out," Curling said. The three groups have filed a similar complaint and a request for an interim measure to the UK competition authority. The complaints echoed a U.S. lawsuit by a U.S. edtech company which said Google's AI Overviews is eroding demand for original content and undermining publishers' ability to compete that have resulted in a drop in visitors and subscribers. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee. Editing by Jane Merriman Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Suggested Topics:Artificial IntelligenceAntitrustRegulatory OversightIntellectual Property Foo Yun Chee Thomson Reuters An agenda-setting and market-moving journalist, Foo Yun Chee is a 21-year veteran at Reuters. Her stories on high profile mergers have pushed up the European telecoms index, lifted companies' shares and helped investors decide on their next move. Her knowledge and experience of European antitrust laws and developments helped her break stories on Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta and Apple, numerous market-moving mergers and antitrust investigations. She has previously reported on Greek politics and companies, when Greece's entry into the eurozone meant it punched above its weight on the international stage, as well as on Dutch corporate giants and the quirks of Dutch society and culture that never fail to charm readers.

Publisher group files EU antitrust complaint against Google over AI Overviews - SiliconANGLE

Publisher group files EU antitrust complaint against Google over AI Overviews An industry group that represents publishers has filed an antitrust complaint against Google LLC in the European Union. Reuters reported the development today. The Independent Publishers Alliance, the group behind the antitrust push, submitted its complaint to the European Commission on June 30. The document also has two other signatories. They are The Movement for an Open Web, which represents digital advertisers and publishers, and UK nonprofit Foxglove Legal Community Interest Company. The antitrust complaint focuses on Google's AI Overviews feature. Released last May, it displays a natural language answer to the user's query above standard search results. "Google's core search engine service is misusing web content for Google's AI Overviews in Google Search, which have caused, and continue to cause, significant harm to publishers," reads the antitrust complaint. The document charges that AI Overviews has negatively impacted publishers' relationship with readers, traffic and revenue. The signatories also take issue with the way the feature uses publishers' content. The three nonprofits argue that Google doesn't give publishers a practical way to opt out of content scraping. "Publishers using Google Search do not have the option to opt out from their material being ingested for Google's AI large language model training and/or from being crawled for summaries, without losing their ability to appear in Google's general search results page," the signatories wrote in the complaint. Under the hood, AI Overviews distills web content into summaries using a customized version of Gemini 2.5. One of the algorithm's publicly-available editions, Gemini 2.5 Pro, is the most advanced language model that Google currently offers to customers. It can process prompts with up to one million tokens. That makes it useful for data-intensive tasks such as analyzing large webpage collections. In March, Google updated its search engine with another machine learning capability called AI Mode. The feature can answer more complicated questions than AI Overviews. In May, Google rolled out a tool dubbed Deep Search that is capable of answering even more challenging queries. If EU regulators determine that AI Overviews raises antitrust concerns, they may also scrutinize AI Mode and Deep Search. According to Reuters, the three nonprofits behind the complaint have also filed a version of the document with the UK's antitrust regulator. The Competition and Markets Authority, or CMA, recently proposed giving Google "strategic market status." This designation could open the company to new regulatory measures, including restrictions on how AI Overviews uses publishers' content. "New AI experiences in Search enable people to ask even more questions, which creates new opportunities for content and businesses to be discovered," Google said in a statement. "The reality is that sites can gain and lose traffic for a variety of reasons, including seasonal demand, interests of users, and regular algorithmic updates to Search."

Google's AI Overview feature facing antitrust complaint

The complaint alleges that Google is abusing its position in the online search market. According to a document seen by Reuters, a group of independent publishers has filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission against search giant Google, regarding the use of its AI Overview feature. The complaint, date 30 June, alleges that Google is abusing its key position in the online search market, to use AI-generated summaries and divert traffic away from independent publishers, resulting in less readership and advertising revenue. Launched first in the US in May 2024, before later being introduced to several other countries including Ireland, Google AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries in response to users' queries that can also link to suggested sites. They appear at the very top of the results page and can sometimes be followed by a round of AI Overview ads. Specifically if the question has a commercial element to it. Independent publishers, via the complaint, have made the argument that this is having a detrimental effect on their work, as Google positions itself at the top of its general search engine results. Additionally, the complaint stated, "Publishers using Google Search do not have the option to opt out from their material being ingested for Google's AI large language model training and/or from being crawled for summaries, without losing their ability to appear in Google's general search results page." Speaking to Reuters, a Google spokesperson said, "New AI experiences in Search enable people to ask even more questions, which creates new opportunities for content and businesses to be discovered. "The reality is that sites can gain and lose traffic for a variety of reasons, including seasonal demand, interests of users and regular algorithmic updates to Search." The complaint is joined by the UK-based non-profit Foxglove, which advocates for democracy in tech and publishing spaces. Foxglove's co-executive director Rosa Curling told Reuters: "Independent news faces an existential threat, Google's AI Overviews. That's why with this complaint, Foxglove and our partners are urging the European Commission, along with other regulators around the world, to take a stand and allow independent journalism to opt out." A complaint has also been submitted to the UK's Competition and Markets Authority. Don't miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic's digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

Google's AI Overviews gets hit by an antitrust complaint in the EU. Here's why

Google's AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries that appear above traditional hyperlinks to relevant webpages and are shown to users in more than 100 countries. It began adding advertisements to AI Overviews last May. The company is making its biggest bet by integrating AI into search but the move has sparked concerns from some content providers such as publishers. The Independent Publishers Alliance document, dated June 30, sets out a complaint to the European Commission and alleges that Google abuses its market power in online search.

Google's AI Overviews Hit by EU Antitrust Complaint From Publishers

Google began adding advertisements to AI Overviews last May Alphabet's Google has been hit by an EU antitrust complaint over its AI Overviews from a group of independent publishers, which has also asked for an interim measure to prevent allegedly irreparable harm to them, according to a document seen by Reuters. Google's AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries that appear above traditional hyperlinks to relevant webpages and are shown to users in more than 100 countries. It began adding advertisements to AI Overviews last May. The company is making its biggest bet by integrating AI into search but the move has sparked concerns from some content providers such as publishers. The Independent Publishers Alliance document, dated June 30, sets out a complaint to the European Commission and alleges that Google abuses its market power in online search. "Google's core search engine service is misusing web content for Google's AI Overviews in Google Search, which have caused, and continue to cause, significant harm to publishers, including news publishers in the form of traffic, readership and revenue loss," the document said. It said Google positions its AI Overviews at the top of its general search engine results page to display its own summaries which are generated using publisher material and it alleges that Google's positioning disadvantages publishers' original content. "Publishers using Google Search do not have the option to opt out from their material being ingested for Google's AI large language model training and/or from being crawled for summaries, without losing their ability to appear in Google's general search results page," the complaint said. Google said it sends billions of clicks to websites each day. "New AI experiences in Search enable people to ask even more questions, which creates new opportunities for content and businesses to be discovered," a Google spokesperson said. The Independent Publishers Alliance's website says it is a nonprofit community advocating for independent publishers, which it does not name. The Movement for an Open Web, whose members include digital advertisers and publishers, and British non-profit Foxglove Legal Community Interest Company, which says it advocates for fairness in the tech world, are also signatories to the complaint. They said an interim measure was necessary to prevent serious irreparable harm to competition and to ensure access to news. Google said numerous claims about traffic from search are often based on highly incomplete and skewed data. "The reality is that sites can gain and lose traffic for a variety of reasons, including seasonal demand, interests of users, and regular algorithmic updates to Search," the Google spokesperson said. Foxglove co-executive director Rosa Curling said journalists and publishers face a dire situation. "Independent news faces an existential threat: Google's AI Overviews," she told Reuters. "That's why with this complaint, Foxglove and our partners are urging the European Commission, along with other regulators around the world, to take a stand and allow independent journalism to opt out," Curling said. The three groups have filed a similar complaint and a request for an interim measure to the UK competition authority. The complaints echoed a US lawsuit by a U.S. edtech company which said Google's AI Overviews is eroding demand for original content and undermining publishers' ability to compete that have resulted in a drop in visitors and subscribers.

Google's AI Overviews Features Sparks New Antitrust Battle With European Publishers: Report - Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Alphabet Inc.'s GOOGL GOOG Google has been hit with an antitrust complaint by a group of independent publishers from the European Union. The complaint is related to Google's AI Overviews, a feature that provides AI-generated summaries above traditional hyperlinks in search results. What Happened: According to a Reuters report, the complaint is related to Google's AI Overviews, a feature that provides AI-generated summaries above traditional hyperlinks in search results. The group of independent publishers has complained to the European Union, alleging that Google is exploiting its market dominance in online search. The document said, "Google's core search engine service is misusing web content for Google's AI Overviews in Google Search, which have caused, and continue to cause, significant harm to publishers, including news publishers in the form of traffic, readership and revenue loss." The complaint, dated June 30, also states that publishers using Google Search do not have the option to opt out from their material being used for AI Overviews without losing their ability to appear in general search results. The complainants include the Independent Publishers Alliance, the Movement for an Open Web, and the British non-profit Foxglove Legal Community Interest Company. See Also: Tesla Made $2.76 Billion From ZEV Credits In 2024 In US But Trump's Tax Bill Just Killed This Revenue Stream The complaint also requests an interim measure to prevent further harm to competition and ensure access to news. Why It Matters: This complaint is the latest in a series of antitrust challenges faced by Google. The tech giant has been under increasing scrutiny for its market dominance and business practices. In June, Google offered to revamp its search results to avoid a hefty fine from the EU. The proposed changes were aimed at better showcasing rivals' services, addressing the European Commission's concerns over Google's preferential treatment of its in-house services. Earlier, in May, a U.S. federal judge hinted at scaling back the Justice Department's proposed remedies for Google's alleged search monopoly. The judge cited the fast-changing role of artificial intelligence in online search as a reason for potentially lighter remedies. Despite these challenges, Google's parent company, Alphabet, has continued to perform well. In its Q1 earnings report in April, the company reported strong revenue growth, driven by its advertising business. The company's stock has also remained resilient, with analysts remaining optimistic about its long-term prospects. According to Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings, Alphabet Inc. performs well when it comes to growth and quality, but lags in momentum. Additional performance details are available here. Read Next: Joe Rogan Once Said He Started Doubting The Apollo Missions After COVID-19, Compared Post-Flight Press Conference To A 'Hostage Video' Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo courtesy: JHVEPhoto / Shutterstock.com GOOGAlphabet Inc$180.540.43%Stock Score Locked: Want to See it? Benzinga Rankings give you vital metrics on any stock - anytime. Reveal Full ScoreEdge RankingsMomentum31.25Growth86.68Quality85.63Value52.60Price TrendShortMediumLongOverviewGOOGLAlphabet Inc$179.500.48%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Publishers File Antitrust Complaint in Europe Targeting Google's AI Overviews | PYMNTS.com

By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. The association alleged in its complaint that by positioning these artificial intelligence (AI)-generated summaries, which use publishers' material, at the top of its search results, Google disadvantages the publishers' original content, Reuters reported in a Friday (July 4) article that was promoted in an Independent Publishers Alliance post on LinkedIn. "Google's core search engine service is misusing web content for Google's AI Overviews in Google Search, which have caused, and continue to cause, significant harm to publishers, including news publishers in the form of traffic, readership and revenue loss," the association wrote in its complaint, according to the report. Asked about the complaint by Reuters, a Google spokesperson said the company's search engine provides websites with clicks. "New AI experiences in Search enable people to ask even more questions, which creates new opportunities for content and businesses to be discovered," the spokesperson said in the report. Google began the rollout of AI Overviews in May 2024, saying they would frequently appear at the top of search results, often replacing the traditional website links. PYMNTS reported at the time that this shift aimed to provide users faster access to information but could alter how businesses approach search engine optimization (SEO) and online advertising. Google made some updates to the AI-generated summaries in August 2024, saying it would display links more prominently to make it easier for users to discover content from publishers, businesses and creators. "With AI Overviews, we're seeing that people have been visiting a greater diversity of websites for help with more complex questions," Hema Budaraju, senior director of product management, search at Google, said at the time in a blog post. "And when peple click from search result pages with AI Overviews, these clicks are higher quality for websites -- meaning users are more likely to spend more time on the sites they visit." It was reported in May 2024 that publishers and content creators who rely on search engine traffic for revenue were concerned that AI Overviews could adversely affect the ecosystem of online content creation and dissemination.

Google Faces EU Antitrust Complaint Over AI Overviews

A group called the Independent Publishers Alliance has filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission against tech giant Google over the AI Overviews feature within its search results, according to a Reuters report. The alliance, which includes news publishers, alleges that Google is misusing its market power within the online search domain, which, in turn, is hurting the web traffic numbers of independent publishers. "Google's core search engine service is misusing web content for Google's AI Overviews in Google Search, which have caused, and continue to cause, significant harm to publishers, including news publishers, in the form of traffic, readership, and revenue loss," the alliance remarked in its complaint. Furthermore, it claimed that independent publishers can't opt out of Google using their web pages' content for AI-generated summaries without disappearing from the tech giant's search results page. "Publishers using Google Search do not have the option to opt out from their material being ingested for Google's AI large language model training and/or from being crawled for summaries without losing their ability to appear in Google's general search results page," the alliance wrote to the European Commission. For context, the tech giant places generative AI-powered summaries -- called AI Overviews -- above traditional hyperlinks to relevant web pages for viewers. Notably, it has been just over a year since Google began displaying AI-generated summaries at the top of search results, and the tech giant continues to expand it to include more languages and regions across the world. However, the AI Overviews feature isn't completely foolproof, producing some dubious summaries, especially when it comes to giving medical advice to users. In addition, these summaries have slowed down traffic to websites listed within Google's search results. For context, last year news publishers warned against AI Overviews, claiming that such AI summaries reduce the incentive for a user to actually click through and read a news article. Elsewhere, American edtech platform Chegg filed a lawsuit against Google, claiming that the AI Overviews feature was spawning anti-competitive practices. Chegg alleged in its lawsuit that the tech giant compels companies to supply their "proprietary content" to feature in its search function. It further claimed that Google fosters an unfair monopoly within the search market, and benefits financially from Chegg's content without providing the edtech platform any remuneration. The antitrust complaint against Google comes at a time when the attention spans of users worldwide are plummeting, and the interest in consuming news content is also witnessing a nosedive. Both these factors constitute an essential double whammy for online news publishers, who are dependent on search engine traffic to some extent to meet their readership goals. And in such a situation, the concerns centred around AI-powered summaries killing web traffic that normally comes to news sites seem plausible. However, Google says that these summaries spur users to ask more questions than usual, which ultimately builds new opportunities for websites listed within its search results. "New AI experiences in Search enable people to ask even more questions, which creates new opportunities for content and businesses to be discovered," a Google spokesperson remarked. Furthermore, Google said that claims about web traffic originating from Google searches are often based on incomplete and 'skewed data'. "The reality is that sites can gain and lose traffic for a variety of reasons, including seasonal demand, interests of users, and regular algorithmic updates to Search," the Google spokesperson added. What the tech giant must learn from the European Commission antitrust complaint is that fear among online publishers about a decline in readership is not without any cause. And it should use and leverage AI in a way that actually complements the growth of online publishers in terms of readership and revenue.

Google hit with antitrust complaint in EU over AI summaries harming...

Google's controversial AI-generated summaries -- which have been blamed for crushing the traffic of US news sites -- have drawn an antitrust complaint in the European Union from a group of independent publishers. The complaint, dated June 30 and submitted by the Independent Publishers Alliance, accuses Google of abusing its dominant position in online search by promoting its own AI-generated summaries over links to original content. The filing by the Independent Publishers Alliance, seen by Reuters, requests that the European Commission impose interim measures to prevent what it describes as "irreparable harm" to publishers. "Google's core search engine service is misusing web content for Google's AI Overviews in Google Search, which have caused, and continue to cause, significant harm to publishers, including news publishers in the form of traffic, readership and revenue loss," the complaint alleges. The court action comes as damning data revealed that the AI Overviews have resulted in 37 of the top 50 US news domains suffering year-over-year traffic declines since its launch in May 2024, according to digital intelligence firm SimilarWeb. A report by SimilarWeb also found that the AI summaries have led to a significant increase in the frequency of "zero clicks" to search queries. The percentage of web searches related to news that end without a click to a news site jumped to 69% in May 2025 from 56% for the same month last year, SimilarWeb found. A spokesperson for the Competition and Markets Authority, the EU's antitrust agency, confirmed to The Post that it received the complaint. "Last week, we proposed to designate Google with strategic market status in search and search advertising. If designated, this would allow us to introduce targeted measured to address specific aspects of how Google operates search services in the UK," the rep said. AI Overviews are summaries generated using Google's artificial intelligence models and are displayed at the top of general search results. The feature is available in more than 100 countries. Google began incorporating advertisements into AI Overviews this past May. The publishers allege that Google's practice of displaying its own summaries above hyperlinks disadvantages original content and is made worse by the lack of control publishers have over how their material is used. "Publishers using Google Search do not have the option to opt out from their material being ingested for Google's AI large language model training and/or from being crawled for summaries, without losing their ability to appear in Google's general search results page," the complaint alleges. The Movement for an Open Web, whose members include digital advertisers and publishers, and British nonprofit Foxglove Legal Community Interest Company are also signatories to the complaint. The three organizations are seeking regulatory intervention to address what they say is an urgent threat to competition and access to news. Foxglove co-executive director Rosa Curling said the consequences of AI Overviews for news publishers are severe. "Independent news faces an existential threat: Google's AI Overviews," Foxglove co-executive director Rosa Curling said. "That's why with this complaint, Foxglove and our partners are urging the European Commission, along with other regulators around the world, to take a stand and allow independent journalism to opt out." A Google spokesperson defended the AI Overviews feature and disputed the characterization of its impact on publishers. "New AI experiences in Search enable people to ask even more questions, which creates new opportunities for content and businesses to be discovered," the spokesperson told Reuters. Google added that the company sends billions of clicks to websites each day and that traffic fluctuations can be influenced by many factors. "The reality is that sites can gain and lose traffic for a variety of reasons, including seasonal demand, interests of users, and regular algorithmic updates to Search," the spokesperson said. The claims in the EU complaint echo a similar argument made in a lawsuit filed in the United States by an education technology company, which alleges that Google's AI Overviews are eroding demand for original content and damaging the competitive ability of publishers, resulting in declines in both traffic and subscriptions. Google has faced several antitrust investigations on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean in recent years. The tech giant is appealing a $4.7 billion fine imposed by the European Commission for allegedly abusing its dominance with the Android operating system. Last month, an advisor to the EU's top court recommended the fine be upheld. The European Commission is also continuing investigations into Google's conduct in digital advertising and search, with potential for further regulatory action. In the United States, a federal judge ruled in August 2024 that Google violated antitrust law by maintaining monopolies in general search and search advertising, citing exclusive deals such as those with Apple. A verdict after a trial on the remedy phase -- which could include breaking up Google -- is expected next month. In a separate ruling in April 2025, another judge found Google had illegally monopolized online advertising markets by controlling both the buy and sell sides of the ad exchange.

Exclusive-Google's AI Overviews hit by EU antitrust complaint from independent publishers

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Alphabet's Google has been hit by an EU antitrust complaint over its AI Overviews from a group of independent publishers, which has also asked for an interim measure to prevent allegedly irreparable harm to them, according to a document seen by Reuters. Google's AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries that appear above traditional hyperlinks to relevant webpages and are shown to users in more than 100 countries. It began adding advertisements to AI Overviews last May. The company is making its biggest bet by integrating AI into search but the move has sparked concerns from some content providers such as publishers. The Independent Publishers Alliance document, dated June 30, sets out a complaint to the European Commission and alleges that Google abuses its market power in online search. "Google's core search engine service is misusing web content for Google's AI Overviews in Google Search, which have caused, and continue to cause, significant harm to publishers, including news publishers in the form of traffic, readership and revenue loss," the document said. It said Google positions its AI Overviews at the top of its general search engine results page to display its own summaries which are generated using publisher material and it alleges that Google's positioning disadvantages publishers' original content. "Publishers using Google Search do not have the option to opt out from their material being ingested for Google's AI large language model training and/or from being crawled for summaries, without losing their ability to appear in Google's general search results page," the complaint said. The Commission declined to comment. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority confirmed receipt of the complaint. Google said it sends billions of clicks to websites each day. "New AI experiences in Search enable people to ask even more questions, which creates new opportunities for content and businesses to be discovered," a Google spokesperson said. The Independent Publishers Alliance's website says it is a nonprofit community advocating for independent publishers, which it does not name. The Movement for an Open Web, whose members include digital advertisers and publishers, and British non-profit Foxglove Legal Community Interest Company, which says it advocates for fairness in the tech world, are also signatories to the complaint. They said an interim measure was necessary to prevent serious irreparable harm to competition and to ensure access to news. Google said numerous claims about traffic from search are often based on highly incomplete and skewed data. "The reality is that sites can gain and lose traffic for a variety of reasons, including seasonal demand, interests of users, and regular algorithmic updates to Search," the Google spokesperson said. Foxglove co-executive director Rosa Curling said journalists and publishers face a dire situation. "Independent news faces an existential threat: Google's AI Overviews," she told Reuters. "That's why with this complaint, Foxglove and our partners are urging the European Commission, along with other regulators around the world, to take a stand and allow independent journalism to opt out," Curling said. The three groups have filed a similar complaint and a request for an interim measure to the UK competition authority. The complaints echoed a U.S. lawsuit by a U.S. edtech company which said Google's AI Overviews is eroding demand for original content and undermining publishers' ability to compete that have resulted in a drop in visitors and subscribers. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee. Editing by Jane Merriman)

EU, U.K. Competition Watchdog Field Complaints Over Google's AI Overview Feature

The European Commission and U.K. 's competition regulator have both received legal complaints this week from publishers over Alphabet's new Google AI Overview tool, saying the company is abusing its dominance and is directing traffic away from news websites. It comes after Google started rolling out its AI Overview feature--where summaries are displayed over Google's blue-linked search results to other websites--last year, first in the U.S., before bringing the service to users in the U.K. in August 2024 and the EU earlier this year. The complaints were filed by tech advocacy group Foxglove as well as the Independent Publishers Alliance--which doesn't detail its members on its website--and the Movement for an Open Web, which says on its website that it works with advertisers and websites. The groups allege that Google's service is causing "serious irreparable harm" to publishers in their complaint to the European Union's executive arm, also asking for interim measures to protect companies. They are supported by law firm Preiskel and Co. "Google's actions exploit content owners' dependency on Google search," said the EU complaint, dated June 30 and seen by Dow Jones Newswires. "At present it is neither easy nor convenient for consumers to switch [AI Overviews] off or remove them from appearing above relevant results," it said. The commission confirmed it had received a complaint from the groups. The Competition and Markets Authority said in response that it could designate Google as a company that may have to obey new rules under the U.K.'s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act, which would factor in Google's AI Overview if it decides to do so. "More than any other company, Google prioritises sending traffic to the web, and we send billions of clicks to websites each day," Google said in response to the complaints, also saying that websites can lose traffic for a range of different reasons. "New AI experiences in Search enable people to ask even more questions, which creates new opportunities for content and businesses to be discovered," it said.

Why Google AI Overviews are facing EU antitrust heat from publishers

Google, however, claims AI Overviews drive a lot of traffic to websites. Google is facing an EU antitrust complaint from a group of independent publishers over its AI Overviews. These AI-generated summaries appear at the top of Google's search results, above regular links to websites, and are shown in more than 100 countries. The publishers claim this is hurting their businesses by reducing traffic to their sites and cutting into their revenue. The complaint, dated June 30, sent to the European Commission by the Independent Publishers Alliance, alleges Google is abusing its power in online search. The group argues that Google's AI Overviews use content from news and other websites without permission, and place it in a way that takes attention away from the original sources, reports Reuters. "Google's core search engine service is misusing web content for Google's AI Overviews in Google Search, which have caused, and continue to cause, significant harm to publishers, including news publishers in the form of traffic, readership and revenue loss," the document stated. Also read: Google Veo 3 is now available in India: Here's how you can use it The publishers also say they can't stop Google from using their content to train its AI or create these summaries unless they fully remove themselves from appearing in Google search results."Publishers using Google Search do not have the option to opt out from their material being ingested for Google's AI large language model training and/or from being crawled for summaries, without losing their ability to appear in Google's general search results page," the complaint said. Also read: Meta and TikTok can be sued over teen's death linked to social media use: Here's what happened Google, however, defends its AI Overviews, saying they are helpful to users and still drive a lot of traffic to websites. "New AI experiences in Search enable people to ask even more questions, which creates new opportunities for content and businesses to be discovered," a Google spokesperson was quoted in the report. This isn't the first complaint of its kind. Similar concerns have been raised in the UK and US lawsuits, all pointing to fears that AI-generated answers are harming original content creators.