The parent company of Rolling Stone, Billboard and Variety filed a lawsuit against Google on Friday, accusing the tech giant of using its journalism without consent to power AI-generated summaries that reduce traffic to its websites.
The case, brought by Penske Media in federal court in Washington, DC, marks the first time a major U.S. publisher has sued Alphabet-owned Google over its “AI Overviews.” The summaries, which now appear at the top of many search results, have become a flashpoint between news organizations and Silicon Valley.
Media outlets have long warned that AI-generated digests discourage users from clicking through to original reporting, hurting both advertising and subscription revenue. Penske, led by CEO Jay Penske, said in the complaint that Google’s dominance in search allowed it to demand publishers’ participation without compensation.
The company argued that Google ties inclusion in search results to the right to repurpose its content in summaries. Without such leverage, Penske said, the company would have to negotiate licenses or pay for access to articles used to train its AI.
“We have a responsibility to proactively fight for the future of digital media and preserve its integrity – all of which is threatened by Google’s current actions,” Penske said.
The publisher, whose outlets attract about 120 million online visitors each month, claimed that roughly 20% of Google searches leading to its sites now display AI Overviews. It also alleged that affiliate revenue has dropped by more than one-third from its peak by the end of 2024 as a result of declining search traffic.
Google defended the feature, arguing that it benefits users and publishers alike. “With AI Overviews, people find Search more helpful and use it more, creating new opportunities for content to be discovered. We will defend against these meritless claims,” spokesperson Jose Castaneda said.
Earlier this year, education company Chegg also sued Google, alleging the same feature was cutting into demand for its services. The complaints come as publishers push for licensing agreements similar to those signed with OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, which has inked deals with News Corp, Financial Times and The Atlantic. Google, whose Gemini chatbot competes with ChatGPT, has been slower to reach such agreements.
Industry groups say the imbalance stems from Google’s market dominance. “All of the elements being negotiated with every other AI company doesn’t apply to Google because they have the market power to not engage in those healthy practices,” said Danielle Coffey, CEO of the News/Media Alliance, which represents more than 2,200 publishers.
A federal court last year found Google held nearly 90% of the U.S. search market. This month, however, the company scored a rare antitrust victory when a judge ruled it would not be forced to sell its Chrome browser as part of efforts to increase competition.
The lawsuit is the latest sign of growing tension between traditional publishers and technology companies as artificial intelligence reshapes the media landscape.
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