Overview
- The inquiry targets Google Search’s AI Overviews and AI Mode, which generate answers potentially drawn from publishers’ sites and other creators’ work.
- Investigators are assessing whether Google imposed unfair terms on rights‑holders or reserved privileged access to content that could disadvantage rival AI developers.
- The probe examines whether YouTube uploads were used to train Google’s models without paying creators or offering opt‑out controls, while platform policies restrict such use by competitors.
- The case is being pursued under EU competition rules with no set deadline and could result in remedies or fines of up to 10% of annual global turnover if breaches are found.
- The action follows campaigns by Foxglove and publisher groups, and Google argues the investigation risks slowing innovation while saying it will continue working with news and creative industries.