Nearly 300 French daily newspapers have filed a formal complaint with the Autorité de la concurrence, the country’s antitrust watchdog, alleging that Google has violated agreements reached in 2022 regarding the use of journalistic content. The move comes after Google introduced in late July its “Aperçus IA” (AI Overviews), a new feature that displays AI-generated summaries at the top of search result pages. These summaries, accompanied by a conversational AI mode allowing users to interact directly with the search engine, reportedly undermine the visibility and traffic of news websites, according to the Alliance de la Presse d'Information Générale (APIG), the collective representing the newspapers. The APIG claims that Google deployed these AI features unilaterally, without prior consultation or negotiation, violating the terms of a licensing agreement signed in 2022. Under that agreement, Google committed to compensating French media outlets for the use of their content in digital platforms. The new AI summaries, however, are presented without explicit permission or additional payment, according to the alliance. This, the APIG argues, constitutes a breach of the existing legal framework governing the rights of authors and publishers under French law. According to the APIG, the introduction of AI Overviews occurred before any formal negotiations could begin. Instead, the company offered only a limited option to remove the feature entirely, which would risk reducing the visibility of participating media outlets. The alliance emphasized that the value of news content should be recognized and fairly compensated, stating that the goal is not to hinder technological progress but to ensure equitable sharing of benefits derived from such innovations. Marc Feuillée, president of the APIG and general director of the Figaro Group, stated in a press release that the information published by media houses carries significant value. He reiterated that the alliance does not oppose innovation but insists that the usage of journalistic material must be remunerated in accordance with the law. The filing with the Autorité de la concurrence does not preclude ongoing discussions, he added. In 2022, Google entered into agreements with 450 French media outlets concerning neighboring rights, enabling them to receive compensation when their content is used by major digital players. However, in March 2024, the Autorité de la concurrence imposed a fine of €250 million on Google for failing to comply with certain obligations under these agreements. This history of regulatory scrutiny adds weight to the current complaints from the media sector. French media organizations are particularly concerned about the potential impact of AI Overviews on their online audiences. With declining revenues and job cuts already affecting several media groups, the loss of traffic attributed to AI-generated summaries poses a serious threat. According to the APIG, the Arcom, France’s audiovisual and digital regulator, estimated that AI summaries could reduce website traffic by 33 to 38 percent in European markets where similar features are available. Despite these concerns, Google maintains that its AI Overviews enhance user experience by enabling more complex queries and facilitating discovery of new content. In a recent interview with AFP, Sébastien Missoffe, Google’s general director in France, noted that the company had overcome regulatory hurdles to launch the service in France. He suggested that the deployment of AI Overviews in the country was possible due to resolved regulatory issues. The issue of how large technology companies compensate creators for the use of their content in training AI systems has become a growing concern across Europe. Earlier this year, the European Union initiated an investigation into whether Google violated competition laws by utilizing content from media and other publishers without adequate compensation. As the debate continues, the outcome of the APIG’s complaint with the Autorité de la concurrence could set an important precedent for future disputes involving AI and intellectual property rights.
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