Google is facing a new investigation from the European Union over concerns that the company may have broken competition rules by placing limits on web publishers and YouTube creators.
Regulators worry that these restrictions could give Google an unfair edge over other companies developing artificial intelligence systems.
According to the European Commission, Google may have used content from publishers in products like AI Overviews and AI Mode in Search without offering proper payment or a clear option for creators to refuse. The Commission is also looking at how YouTube content is being fed into Google’s generative AI models under policies that seem to benefit Google while preventing creators from allowing their work to be used by competing AI developers.
These concerns are part of a much larger issue known as “Google Zero,” a scenario where Google Search stops sending users to outside websites. If that happens, many publishers fear they could lose the traffic and ad revenue they rely on to survive.
The EU will now examine whether publishers can keep their material out of Google’s AI features without risking their visibility in Search. Many businesses depend heavily on Google for users, making it difficult to opt out. Regulators also point out that YouTube’s rules let Google train its own AI systems on user uploads while blocking others from doing the same, raising questions about fairness and equal access.
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