The EU has opened an investigation into whether Google is breaking European competition rules in its use of online content from publishers and YouTube creators of artificial intelligence.
THE European Commission said on Tuesday it would examine whether the US technology company, which runs the Gemini AI model and is owned by Alphabet, was putting rival AI owners at a “disadvantage”.
The commission said: “The investigation will examine in particular whether Google distorts competition by imposing unfair terms and conditions on publishers and content creators, or by granting privileged access to this content, thereby disadvantaging developers of competing AI models.
The company expressed concern that Google may have used content from web publishers to generate AI-based services on its search results pages, without appropriate compensation to publishers and without providing them with the opportunity to opt out of such use of their content.
The commission also raised concerns about whether Google used content uploaded to YouTube to train its own generative AI models without offering compensation to creators or the ability to opt out.
“Content creators uploading videos to YouTube are required to grant Google permission to use their data for various purposes, including training generative AI models,” the commission said.
Google third party bars to use YouTube videos for training AI models, unless creators or rights holders enable a setting allowing companies to use their content for training.
However, YouTube also tells creators that it uses videos uploaded to the platform to “improve the product experience for creators and viewers on YouTube and Google, including through machine learning and AI applications.” CNBC reported in June that Google used YouTube videos to train its Gemini and Veo3 models. Google said it used a subset of the videos for training purposes.
In September, YouTube said: “We use content uploaded to YouTube to improve the product experience for creators and viewers on YouTube and Google, including through machine learning and AI applications. »
EU competition chief Teresa Ribera said: “AI brings remarkable innovation and many benefits to people and businesses around the world. Europebut this progress cannot be made to the detriment of the principles which are at the heart of our societies.
A Google spokesperson said: “This complaint risks 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 information and creative industries as they transition into the AI era.”
The EU investigation is the latest in a series of challenges to major U.S. tech companies in recent years.
In September, European regulators fined Google almost €3bn (£2.6bn)claiming that it favored its own digital advertising services over its competitors. Donald Trump called the fine “discriminatory.”
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Elon Musk’s social media company fined 120 million euros by European tech regulators last week for violating online content rules. The violations included what the EU called a “misleading” blue check verification badge given to users and the lack of transparency in the platform’s advertising.
The fine also drew criticism from U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who wrote on X that the fine was “an attack on all American technology platforms and the American people by foreign governments.”
The European Commission opened an investigation earlier this year into Meta over the introduction of AI features on WhatsApp, its messaging platform. Last year, Meta was fined 798 million euros for abusive practices benefiting Facebook Marketplace.
In 2024, Apple lost a fight against an order by EU competition regulators to pay €13 billion in back taxes to Ireland.
Last month, the head of Google’s parent company said people should not “blindly trust” everything AI tools tell them.
Sundar Pichai, the managing director of Alphabetsaid AI models were “prone to errors” and urged people to use them with other tools. He also predicted that no company would be safe if the AI bubble burst.
Reuters contributed to this report