Alphabet´s Google is under renewed regulatory scrutiny in the European Union after a coalition of independent publishers filed an antitrust complaint against the company´s Artificial Intelligence-powered Overviews in Search. These AI-generated summaries, which sit atop traditional search results, use publisher content to create instant answers for users across more than 100 countries. The complaint, dated June 30 and addressed to the European Commission, contends that this feature not only undermines the visibility and profitability of publishers´ original content but also precludes them from opting out without losing access to general search visibility.
The filing, orchestrated by the Independent Publishers Alliance and co-signed by the Movement for an Open Web and British non-profit Foxglove Legal Community Interest Company, calls for urgent interim measures to prevent what it describes as irreparable damage to competition and news access. According to the document, publishers suffer from reduced traffic, diminished readership, and loss of revenue as Google´s summaries—positioned at the very top of results—drive users away from news websites. The complaint states that unlike other search features, the Overviews co-opt publishers´ content for both search results and large language model training without effective opt-out options, exacerbating the impact for independent and smaller outlets.
Google defends the innovation as an opportunity, asserting that its Artificial Intelligence experiences spur greater user engagement and generate billions of website clicks each day. The company challenges claims about lost traffic as inaccurate or based on skewed data, highlighting that traffic fluctuations can result from seasonal trends, shifting user interests, and routine algorithm updates. For their part, publisher advocates argue that the change presents an existential threat to independent journalism. They are urging European and global regulators to mandate an opt-out for content used in Artificial Intelligence training and result summaries. The complaint has prompted not only EU attention but also a similar filing with the UK´s Competition and Markets Authority and echoes legal challenges from US-based organizations, deepening concerns over Google´s dominant role in shaping access to news and information online.
