Key Points
- The EU has launched a new antitrust investigation into Google’s AI practices.
- Regulators suspect Google is unfairly favoring its own AI and failing to pay content creators appropriately.
- The probe follows a similar one against Meta and adds to years of massive EU fines against U.S. tech firms.
- If found guilty, Google could face a penalty of up to 10% of its global annual revenue.
The European Union is cracking down on Big Tech again, this time launching an antitrust probe into Google over its artificial intelligence strategy. EU regulators suspect the tech giant is abusing its immense market power to give its own AI an unfair advantage. The move comes just days after officials announced a similar investigation into Meta Platforms.
This new probe is likely to spark more criticism from the White House, which has repeatedly accused the EU of unfairly targeting American companies.
The investigation will examine whether Google imposes unfair terms on content creators and gives its own AI model an advantage over rivals. Officials in Brussels also want to know if Google properly pays web publishers for the content its AI uses to generate search results and summaries.
In a statement, Google argued the EU’s case “risks stifling innovation” and said it would continue to work with creative industries.
This is just the latest chapter in a long-running battle. In September, the EU fined Google nearly €3 billion for its ad-tech practices, a move President Donald Trump slammed as “discriminatory.” Trump has also threatened new tariffs and export restrictions in response to the EU’s aggressive regulation of Big Tech, which includes massive fines against Apple and Elon Musk’s X.
The stakes for Google are enormous. Under EU rules, the company could face a fine of up to 10% of its global annual revenue if found guilty. This investigation adds to the pressure Google already faces under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, a sweeping law designed to rein in the power of the world’s largest tech platforms. Google will now have to propose solutions to address the EU’s concerns.
