Brussels is investigating Google for training its AI with media content.

BrusselsThe European Commission has dealt a second blow to a major US tech company in less than a week. After the €120 million fine against XFollowing outrage from Donald Trump himself, Brussels has announced it is opening an investigation into Google's use of media content and content uploaded to YouTube (owned by the same group) without permission or compensation to train its artificial intelligence (AI), and its alleged restrictions on access to this content for competitors developing AI. The European Commission's investigation aims to determine whether the American company is violating EU competition law. "We are investigating whether Google may have imposed unfair conditions and requirements on media outlets and content creators, and excluded competitors from AI development to put them at a disadvantage, which goes against EU competition rules," said Teresa Ribera, Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Competitiveness, in a statement. The European Commission is investigating whether the US tech giant is using content found in its search engine to train its AI without adequately compensating content creators and media outlets, and without offering them the option to refuse such use. Furthermore, Brussels warns of the dependence of media outlets and content creators on Google, and therefore they want to avoid confronting the US company and opposing this use of their content. "They don't want to risk losing access to their search engines," the Commission stated in its press release.

The situation is the same in the case of YouTube. The European Commission has evidence that all content creators, when they upload a video to this platform, are forced to accept all the conditions and requirements imposed by the tech giant, including permission to use this content to train artificial intelligence. "Google does not compensate YouTube content creators for their content, nor does it allow them to upload material without Google being able to use their data," Brussels denounces.

The threat of a fine

The European Commission has made it clear that opening an investigation does not mean it is currently certain that Google is violating European competition law and, therefore, is not prejudging the conclusions of the proceedings it has opened. However, it is very unusual for Brussels to back down in cases like these and withdraw the accusations: it is more likely that it will end up confirming its fears and force the American multinational to take measures to comply with EU legislation. Should Google refuse to make any reforms and, therefore, adapt to EU law, Brussels could impose fines of billions of euros, which could reach up to 6% of its annual worldwide revenue. In fact, the European Commission has already imposed several financial penalties against Google, mainly for abuse of its dominant position and for violating European blog competition rules. And to give a more recent example, Brussels fined Elon Musk's social network X €120 million, an amount that represents nearly 5% of the American company's revenue.