The European Commission has opened an investigation into Google to determine whether the tech giant has abused its dominant search engine position by using published web content and YouTube videos to train its AI models — possibly in violation of EU competition rules.
At the center of the inquiry are Google’s “AI Overviews” and its practice of using user-uploaded videos on YouTube for AI training — without providing what regulators describe as adequate compensation or refusal options to creators and publishers. The Commission argues that this setup might unfairly disadvantage other content creators and rival AI developers.
EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera stated that while AI offers “remarkable innovation,” it must not come at the expense of a healthy information ecosystem. She emphasised the need to protect media diversity, the livelihoods of creators, and fair competition in the digital economy.
Google has rejected the claims, arguing the investigation risks stifling innovation at a time when competition in the AI space is growing. The outcome of the probe could set a major precedent for how online content and user-generated material are used in training AI models across the industry.
