google on Tuesday came under EU antitrust investigation over its use of online content for AI purposes, the latest in a series of EU crackdowns on regulating big U.S. tech companies.
The European Commission said it was investigating whether Google breached EU competition rules by using content from web publishers and uploaded to online video sharing platform YouTube for AI purposes.
The commission said its investigation will examine whether Google distorts competition by imposing unfair contract terms on publishers and content creators, or by giving itself privileged access to content and putting developers of competing AI models at a disadvantage.
Teresa Rivera, the bloc’s competition commissioner, said: “AI is bringing about remarkable innovation and delivering many benefits to people and businesses across Europe, but this progress will not come at the expense of the principles that are at the heart of our societies.”
“We are therefore investigating whether Google may have breached EU competition rules by imposing unfair contract terms on publishers and content creators, putting rival AI model developers at a disadvantage.”
The commission said it will investigate the extent to which Google’s generation of AI Overview and AI Mode is based on the content of web publishers, without adequate compensation and without the possibility for publishers to refuse without losing access to Google Search.
“This complaint risks stifling innovation in a market that is more competitive than ever,” a Google spokesperson told CNBC. “Europeans deserve to benefit from the latest technology and we will continue to work closely with the news and creative industries as they move into the AI era.”
In September, the EU fined Google nearly 3 billion euros (approximately 340 billion yen) for distorting competition in the advertising technology industry and violating antitrust laws.
At the time, Google’s head of global regulation Leanne Mulholland said the EU’s decision was a “mistake” and the company would appeal. “There is no barrier to competition in serving ad buyers and sellers, and there are more alternatives to our services than ever before,” he said.
EU vs. US big tech
The move follows a series of actions the bloc has taken against major U.S. tech companies in recent days.
The commission on Friday fined Elon Musk’s social media app X 120 million euros ($140 million) for breaching transparency obligations regarding its advertising repositories and for “the deceptive design of the ‘blue checkmark’.”
Musk responded by calling for the abolition of the European Union, a decision also criticized by key Republican officials.
The European Union also announced last week that it had opened an antitrust investigation. Meta It said the new policy of allowing AI providers to access WhatsApp could violate the bloc’s competition rules.
