<\/p>\n
The EU has opened an investigation to assess whether Google is breaching European competition rules in its use of online content from publishers and YouTube<\/a> creators for artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n The European Commission said on Tuesday it will examine whether the US tech company, which runs the Gemini AI model and is owned by Alphabet<\/a>, is putting rival AI owners at a \u201cdisadvantage\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe investigation will notably examine whether Google<\/a> is distorting competition by imposing unfair terms and conditions on publishers and content creators, or by granting itself privileged access to such content, thereby placing developers of rival AI models at a disadvantage,\u201d the commission said.<\/p>\n It said it was concerned that Google may have used content from web publishers to generate AI-powered services on its search results pages without appropriate compensation to publishers and without offering them the possibility to refuse such use of their content.<\/p>\n The commission said it was also concerned as to whether Google has used content uploaded to YouTube to train its own generative AI models without offering creators compensation or the possibility to refuse.<\/p>\n \u201cContent creators uploading videos on YouTube have an obligation to grant Google permission to use their data for different purposes, including for training generative AI models,\u201d the commission said.<\/p>\n Google does not pay YouTube content creators for their content, nor does it allow them to upload their content on YouTube without allowing Google to use such data, it said. The commission noted that rival developers of AI models are barred by YouTube policies from using YouTube content to train their own AI models.<\/p>\n Google-owned YouTube says its terms and conditions allow Google to use creators\u2019 work for making AI models. In September, YouTube said: \u201cWe use content uploaded to YouTube to improve the product experience for creators and viewers across YouTube and Google, including through machine learning and AI applications.\u201d<\/p>\n The EU\u2019s competition chief, Teresa Ribera, said: \u201cAI is bringing remarkable innovation and many benefits for people and businesses across Europe<\/a>, but this progress cannot come at the expense of the principles at the heart of our societies.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Google said: \u201cThis complaint risks stifling innovation in a market that is more competitive than ever.<\/p>\n \u201cEuropeans deserve to benefit from the latest technologies and we will continue to work closely with the news and creative industries as they transition to the AI era.\u201d<\/p>\n The EU\u2019s investigation is the latest in a series of challenges to US big tech companies in recent years.<\/p>\n In September, EU regulators issued a fine of almost \u20ac3bn (\u00a32.6bn) against Google<\/a>, claiming that it favoured its own digital advertising services over rivals. Donald Trump said the fine was \u201cdiscriminatory\u201d.<\/p>\n