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(Sharecast News) - Alphabet subsidiary Google is facing a formal European Union antitrust investigation into whether it had unfairly used web publishers' content and YouTube videos to develop artificial intelligence products, escalating regulatory pressure on the US tech sector.
The European Commission said on Tuesday it was examining whether Google breached EU competition rules by imposing unfair terms on publishers and creators, granting itself privileged access to their material and disadvantaging rival AI developers, according to CNBC and Investing.com.
The probe was centred on Google's 'AI Overviews' - automated summaries displayed above search results - and its AI Mode features, which the Commission alleged may rely on third-party content without adequate compensation or a meaningful ability for publishers to refuse participation.
Reuters reported that regulators were also scrutinising Google's use of YouTube videos to train its AI models under similar conditions, raising concerns the company could be abusing its dominant position in search to fuel its own AI services.
EU competition commissioner Teresa Ribera said the investigation aimed to ensure innovation "cannot come at the expense of the principles at the heart of our societies," insisting Brussels must protect content creators and guarantee fair competition in emerging AI markets.
She described the case as a "strong signal" of the bloc's commitment to safeguarding online press and other rights holders.
If found guilty, Google could face a fine of up to 10% of its global annual revenue.
The action followed a wider regulatory offensive against US tech firms.
Last week, Brussels opened a separate investigation into Meta's plans to allow AI providers access to WhatsApp, while Elon Musk's X was fined 120m for breaching transparency rules.
Google was fined nearly 3bn in September for competition violations in ad tech, a decision it was appealing.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
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