The European Commission Opens Antitrust Proceedings Against Google’s AI Overviews & YouTube. The investigation follows on from a complaint submitted by Preiskel & Co LLP led by Tim Cowen, on behalf of Foxglove, the Independent Publishers’ Alliance and the Movement for an Open Web in July 2025 that stated that Google Search is misusing web content for Google’s AI Overviews in Google Search which has caused, and continues to cause, significant harm to publishers. The complaint detailed how Google’s abusive conduct interferes with the competitive dynamic, innovation and the plurality of the media and freedom of speech online.
Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition at the European Commission, recognised this: “A free and democratic society depends on diverse media, open access to information, and a vibrant creative landscape. These values are central to who we are as Europeans. 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. This is why 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.”
This marks a major step forward in addressing Google’s conduct and levelling the playing field for publishers and content creators.
See Reuters article and the Commission’s press release: https://lnkd.in/dWaRyp3e and https://lnkd.in/efUq6hHF