EU probes Google over AI training using Search and YouTube data
European Commission has launched antitrust probe into whether Google used publishers’ and creators’ content to build its AI tools without fair consent or compensation.
- The European Commission has launched a formal investigation into Google over concerns it is breaching EU competition rules by using its market dominance in Search and YouTube to train its AI models.
- The probe focuses on claims that Google's AI scrapes content from publishers' websites without fair compensation, while indirectly forcing them to comply by threatening lower search rankings if they opt out.
- A similar concern is being investigated on YouTube, where creators are allegedly required to allow their videos to be used for AI training without an opt-out option or extra payment.
- Google is also accused of abusing its market power by restricting rival companies from accessing YouTube content for their own AI training purposes.
The European Commission (EC) formally opened an investigation into Google on Tuesday (December 9) amid suspicions the company may be breaching EU competition rules by leveraging its infrastructure and market dominance to tie up AI-related content.
Google is widely seen as a digital giant with deep reach across online search, advertising, and YouTube.
Together, these services generate vast volumes of data, giving the company a major advantage in training and improving AI systems and helping it accelerate development in recent years.
At the centre of the complaint are Google’s AI features, including AI Overviews and AI Mode, which draw detailed information from websites that appear in Google Search.
Critics argue this is done without permission, reducing traffic to original publishers and directly hurting their revenues, while providing little or no appropriate compensation.
Publishers say blocking Google’s AI from using their content may be possible, but comes with a catch: their websites can be pushed down the rankings and shown less prominently in search results.
In effect, they argue, this creates indirect pressure that distorts competition and undermines fair trading.
A similar concern has been raised on YouTube, where creators are said to be required to accept terms allowing Google to use uploaded videos for AI development, without an opt-out option and without extra payment.
At the same time, Google is accused of restricting rival companies from accessing content on the platform for AI training, a move that could be viewed as an abuse of market power.
If Google is ultimately found to have violated EU competition law, it could face a fine of up to 10% of its annual worldwide revenue.
