The European Union said on Tuesday it had opened a probe to determine whether Google breached antitrust rules by using content put online by media and other publishers to train and provide AI services without appropriate compensation.
In a move criticised by the U.S. tech giant, the European Commission said it would look into concerns that Google might be distorting competition by imposing unfair terms and conditions on publishers and content creators, or by granting itself privileged access to their output.
"A free and democratic society depends on diverse media, open access to information, and a vibrant creative landscape," the European Union's competition chief, Teresa Ribera, said.
"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."
The probe marks the latest attempt by the 27-nation EU to rein in Big Tech, in the face of strong pushback by the government of U.S. President Donald Trump.
And Google said the complaints at the heart of it risked "stifling innovation in a market that is more competitive than ever."
"Europeans deserve to benefit from the latest technologies, and we will continue to work closely with the news and creative industries as they transition to the AI era," said a spokesperson for the firm.
The investigation falls under the EU's competition rules rather than digital laws accused by Trump of unfairly targeting American firms.
It would look into whether Google used videos on YouTube, which it owns, to train its generative artificial intelligence models without adequately paying the creators who post the clips online – and without offering them the possibility to refuse such use of their content.
"Google does not remunerate YouTube content creators for their content, nor does (it) allow them to upload their content on YouTube without allowing Google to use such data," the commission said.
"At the same time, rival developers of AI models are barred by YouTube policies from using YouTube content to train their own AI models."
The probe would also check whether the firm used online content from other sites, such as newspaper websites, to provide generative AI-powered services, again with no compensation or possibility to opt out.
This relates in particular to Google's AI-generated summaries that pop up in response to a user's search query and to the firm's "AI Mode" – a search tab similar to a chatbot which answers users' questions, the commission said.
"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," Ribera said.
The probe follows complaint letters sent to regulators in Brussels and London by British tech rights group Foxglove earlier this year. It accused Google of "stealing the work of professional journalists."
Many media groups have seen their revenue dwindle over the past two decades as advertising moved increasingly online, where tech firms take a big share of the profits.
Critics lament that AI summaries could cause further harm by leading to a drop in internet traffic to newspapers' online articles – with many users no longer clicking through to read the original source of the information.
Google contends that tools like AI Overviews help people ask more complex questions and discover new content. The company also says it provides controls to help publishers manage their content.
There is no deadline for the commission to complete its investigation, and the opening of a probe does not prejudge its outcome. The company, however, risks a hefty fine of up to 10% of its worldwide annual turnover.
