Commission opens antitrust probe into Google’s AI and YouTube data practices
The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation into whether Google has infringed Article 102 TFEU and Article 54 EEA by using content from web publishers and YouTube creators to train and power its generative AI services. The case focuses on Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode in Search, as well as its use of YouTube content for AI model training. The Commission will assess whether Google’s conduct amounts to an abuse of dominance through self-preferencing or the imposition of unfair trading conditions on publishers and creators.
A central concern is that AI Overviews and AI Mode may rely on publishers’ content without appropriate compensation and without offering a realistic possibility to opt out, given publishers’ dependence on Google Search for traffic. The Commission will examine whether publishers are effectively forced to accept the use of their content for AI purposes to preserve their visibility in search results, and whether this conduct distorts competition by weakening the position of both publishers and alternative AI services.
In relation to YouTube, the Commission is scrutinizing Google’s requirement that content creators grant broad rights to use their uploads, including for training generative AI models, as a condition for hosting their content on the platform. The investigation also targets the asymmetry whereby Google may use YouTube content for its own AI training, while contractual and policy restrictions prevent rival AI developers from accessing the same content. This combination of mandatory data access for Google and exclusion of competitors may amount to exploitative and exclusionary practices.
The opening of proceedings triggers the effects of Regulation 1/2003: national competition authorities are relieved of competence over the same practices under Article 11(6), and national courts must avoid conflicting decisions under Article 16(1). There is no fixed deadline for the investigation, whose length will depend on the complexity of the facts, Google’s level of cooperation, and the exercise of procedural rights. The case, registered under number AT.40983, will be closely watched as a test of how EU competition law constrains the use of data and content in the development and deployment of generative AI services.
