The conflict between Google and the European Independent Publishers Alliance centers on Google’s use of European journalistic content in its search services, particularly its AI-generated summaries called AI Overviews, and the fair remuneration of publishers under EU copyright laws.
Let’s have a look Key points of the dispute:
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Publishers’ complaint: The Independent Publishers Alliance accuses Google of abusing its dominant position in online search by misappropriating content for its AI Overviews, which appear prominently above search results. They argue this practice harms publishers by reducing traffic, readership, and revenue, effectively disadvantaging the original journalistic works.
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Google’s unilateral actions: Publishers reject Google’s unilateral “experiment” in eight EU countries where Google removed press content from its services without consultation, affecting about 2 million Europeans. Google assessed the value of European press content using opaque criteria, which publishers say undermines their legitimate claims for fair payment.
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Regulatory context: The European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Copyright Directive seek to ensure fair remuneration for press publishers. The French Competition Authority intervened to prevent Google from delisting publishers during negotiations, safeguarding fair bargaining.
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Google’s response and deals: Google has signed licensing agreements with over 2,600 European publications across 16 countries, including major deals in Germany and France, and is rolling out tools to facilitate contracts with smaller publishers. However, Google has also withdrawn from some deals, such as a multi-year agreement with Australian publishers, complicating relations.
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Recent legal action: On July 4, 2025, the Independent Publishers Alliance filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission, seeking interim measures to prevent further harm from Google’s AI Overviews, accusing Google of monopolistic abuse in search.
This ongoing conflict highlights the tension between digital platforms’ AI-driven content aggregation and the rights and revenues of traditional news publishers in Europe, with regulatory bodies increasingly involved to ensure fair competition and remuneration.