Google Hit by EU Abuse of Dominance Probe Over AI Tools

(Bloomberg) -- Google has been deed by a European Union probe implicit suspicions the US tech elephantine is abusing its marketplace powerfulness successful its rollout of artificial intelligence, days aft Meta Platforms Inc. was targeted by a akin probe.

In different determination apt to stoke White House criticism, EU watchdogs said they volition analyse whether the Alphabet Inc. portion imposed unfair presumption connected contented creators and giving its ain AI exemplary an vantage implicit its rivals.

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The Brussels-based European Commission volition besides analyse to what grade the procreation of AI Overviews and AI Mode by Google is based connected web publishers’ contented and if they are paid appropriately for that.

“This lawsuit is erstwhile again a beardown awesome of our committedness to protecting the online property and different contented creators, and to ensuring just contention successful emerging AI markets,” Teresa Ribera, the EU’s antitrust commissioner said successful a Brussels code connected Tuesday.

Google said the EU lawsuit “risks stifling innovation successful a marketplace that is much competitory than ever. Europeans merit to payment from the latest technologies and we volition proceed to enactment intimately with the quality and originative industries arsenic they modulation to the AI era.”

The caller probe follows September’s good of astir €3 cardinal ($3.5 billion) against Google for allegedly favoring its ain advertizing exertion services implicit rivals, which provoked the ire of US President Donald Trump, who slammed the good arsenic “discriminatory.”

Last week, the Trump medication lashed retired astatine a good for Elon Musk’s X for its violations of rules governing online content. The committee besides raised eyebrows crossed the Atlantic by signing disconnected connected a probe into however tools connected Meta’s WhatsApp whitethorn unfairly thwart rival AI providers.

Trump officials person peculiarly focused connected a bid of costly EU penalties against Big Tech firms, including much than €9.5 cardinal successful fines against Google and a abstracted bid for Apple to wage Ireland backmost taxes of €13 billion.

Trump has threatened to enforce caller tariffs and export restrictions connected precocious exertion implicit the issue. And US officials accidental they won’t easiness 50% tariffs connected alloy and aluminum products until the EU loosens its tech rules.

The tech elephantine has besides faced billions of different fines from the EU successful the signifier of a €4.13 cardinal Android punishment and a €2.42 cardinal good for crushing buying hunt rivals. A €1.49 cardinal AdSense levy was annulled past year.