EU, investigation on Google: it feeds its AI with content from publishers and creators
At the centre of attention is the suspicion that Google may have imposed 'unfair' conditions on publishers, granting itself privileged access to their content to feed AI
Again an investigation that starts in Brussels and reaches the heart of American Big Tech. This time, the European Commission has opened a new antitrust file on Google to investigate whether the Mountain View group is violating EU competition rules when using online content from publishers and creators (including material uploaded to YouTube) to train its artificial intelligence technologies.
At the centre of attention is the suspicion that Google may have imposed 'unfair' conditions on publishers, granting itself privileged access to their content in order to feed AI services integrated into search result pages. The Commission, in essence, fears that this asymmetry may penalise developers of rival models and distort the market. Ergo: Google would again be using all its digital power to get the better of its competitors.
The Commission also points to the possibility that Google used editorial content to generate AI services without adequate financial compensation and without offering publishers the opportunity to opt-out of such use. Similar concerns apply to YouTube: regulators want to understand whether user-uploaded videos were used to train proprietary generative models, again without compensation or opt-out mechanisms. In other words, Big G is suspected of taking data, for example, from major newspapers, to enrich its algorithms and provide answers to users. Without, however, paying any financial compensation. A very topical story, the latter, with AI undermining the business models of content creators.
The investigation marks a new front in the relationship between Big Tech and the European Union, at a time when the AI race is redefining the value and vulnerability of digital content.
