U.S. Media Giant Challenges Google’s AI Search Services in Court
A prominent American media organization has initiated legal action seeking an injunction against Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) search functionalities, contending that its news content was appropriated without authorization, thereby adversely affecting online traffic.
The lawsuit marks a significant moment as it represents the first instance of a major U.S. media entity directly contesting the operational modalities of AI search engines. According to the Wall Street Journal, on the 13th of this month, Penske Media, the parent company of noted publications such as Rolling Stone and Hollywood Reporter, lodged an antitrust complaint against Google before the Federal District Court in Washington, D.C.
This legal maneuver follows a prior ruling where the court determined that Google had been engaging in unlawful monopolistic practices within the internet search arena. In its complaint, Penske Media articulated that “Google is employing our articles without authorization to generate AI summaries, thereby dissuading readers from accessing legitimate media websites.”
They asserted, “This practice inflicts considerable harm on revenue and endangers the integrity of the media ecosystem as a whole.”
Since 2024, Google has incorporated the “AI Overview” feature into its search results. Rather than presenting a list of hyperlinks in response to user inquiries, this function consolidates information from various websites into cohesive summaries. Although the source links are altered, users are likely to find the summarized content more convenient, often bypassing the original articles entirely.
The AI Overview feature is selectively visible based on the nature of the query, particularly for information-seeking or longer questions. According to Google, this functionality engages approximately 2 billion users globally each month.
Penske Media criticized this practice as “unfair trade,” characterizing it as exploitation devoid of compensation for the content utilized in AI learning and summarization. They pointed out that when their articles appear in Google search results, an AI summary is generated one time for every five instances, which significantly diminishes user engagement with the original articles.
Consequently, they reported a staggering decline of over one-third in sales from their online shopping affiliate links since the conclusion of 2024.
The landscape of litigation concerning AI technologies and media outlets is evolving rapidly within the United States. Notably, the New York Times filed a copyright lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft in December 2023.
Additionally, both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post pursued legal action against AI search startup Purplelexity in October last year.
Furthermore, in a notable settlement, the AI competitor Anthropic reached an agreement worth at least $1.5 billion concerning allegations of utilizing unauthorized e-books as training data.
In defense of the AI Overview, Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda remarked, “This feature enhances the utility of searches, attracting more users and revealing diverse websites in the process. Google generates billions of clicks directed toward sites globally each day.”
He further noted that “Users who engage with links accompanying AI Overviews tend to remain on those sites longer, fostering higher quality traffic for media companies.”
Amidst these challenges, AI enterprises are also exploring cooperative frameworks with media organizations. Google is collaborating with the Associated Press to disseminate real-time news through its AI chatbot, Gemini.
Similarly, Amazon has opted to leverage article content for real-time summaries and AI learning by entering into a contractual agreement with the New York Times.
Source link: Mk.co.kr.
