Google sued by Rolling Stone, Billboard owner Penske for AI overviews
The owner of Rolling Stone, Billboard, and Variety filed a lawsuit against Google on Friday, claiming that the technology giant’s AI-generated summaries utilize its journalism without permission and diminish traffic to its websites. The lawsuit filed by Penske Media in federal court in Washington, D.C., represents a significant moment as it is the first instance of a major U.S. publisher taking legal action against Alphabet-owned Google regarding the AI-generated summaries that currently feature prominently in its search results.
For months, news organizations have asserted that the new features, such as Google’s “AI Overviews,” divert traffic from their websites, undermining both advertising and subscription revenue. Penske, a family-owned media conglomerate under the leadership of Jay Penske, draws in an impressive 120 million online visitors each month. Stated that Google includes publishers websites in its search results solely if it can utilize their articles in AI summaries. In the lawsuit, the company stated, “Without the leverage, Google would have to pay publishers for the right to republish their work or use it to train its AI systems.” It noted that Google was able to impose such terms because of its search dominance, referencing a federal court’s finding last year that the tech giant held a near 90% share of the U.S. search market.
“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. It was alleged that approximately 20% of Google searches directing to its sites currently display AI Overviews, a proportion anticipated to increase. Furthermore, it was noted that its affiliate revenue has decreased by over a third from its peak by the end of 2024, coinciding with a decline in search traffic. In February, online education company Chegg filed a lawsuit against Google, claiming that the AI-generated overviews produced by the search giant were diminishing the demand for original content and jeopardizing the competitive standing of publishers. In response to Penske’s lawsuit, Google stated on Saturday that AI overviews enhance user experience and direct traffic to a broader range of websites. “With AI Overviews, individuals find Search more beneficial and utilize it more, generating new opportunities for content to be uncovered. We will defend against these meritless claims.” Jose Castaneda, a spokesperson for Google, stated.
A judge granted the company a notable antitrust victory earlier this month by deciding that it will not be required to divest its Chrome browser in the pursuit of enhancing competition in the search market. The decision has left some publishers and industry bodies feeling disappointed, as it has removed their ability to opt out of AI overviews. “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,” Danielle Coffey.
“When you possess the immense scale and market influence that Google commands, you are not bound to adhere to the same standards. That is the problem.” Coffey was referring to AI licensing deals that firms like ChatGPT-maker OpenAI have been signing with prominent organizations. Google, with its Gemini chatbot in competition with ChatGPT, has been more deliberate in securing such agreements.
