French publishers have filed a complaint against Google with France’s competition regulator, arguing that the company’s AI-powered search features generate summaries from news publishers’ content without first securing their permission or agreeing separate compensation.
The Alliance de la presse d’information générale said on Tuesday it had referred Google to the Autorité de la concurrence following the French launch of AI Overviews and AI Mode, seeking enforcement of commitments Google made to the regulator in 2022.
According to the publishers’ group, Google’s AI services can place generated answers above conventional search links, drawing in part on material produced by news organizations.
The Alliance said the products were introduced before transparent, good-faith negotiations took place, leaving publishers with a proposed update to existing licensing terms or a technical opt-out that could reduce their visibility in search.
Publishers challenge Google’s rollout terms
The Alliance said its objection centers on how the services were deployed rather than on the introduction of artificial intelligence itself.
It argued that France’s 2019 neighboring-rights law requires authorization and remuneration for the use of press content, while Google remains bound until July 2027 by commitments requiring good-faith, transparent and non-discriminatory negotiations.
The group alleges that launching new uses of publishers’ material without prior permission or specific compensation breaches those obligations.
The dispute also centers on the impact on publisher traffic, with the Alliance citing French regulator Arcom as estimating that AI-generated summaries have cut visits to news sites by 33% to 38% in European markets where the services are already available.
The publishers said they remain open to negotiations, while insisting that Google secure licensing agreements and provide compensation before using their journalism in generative AI services.
EU pressure on Google continues to build
The news comes amid wider European efforts to promote healthy competition among AI models, search services, mobile platforms and other digital products.
On July 16, the European Commission ordered Google to give rival AI assistants equal access to important Android features and provide eligible search competitors, including AI chatbots, with anonymized data collected through Google Search.
The measures could allow users to activate third-party AI assistants through voice commands and use them to perform tasks inside apps, bringing their capabilities closer to Gemini’s
One week later, the Commission fined Google €890 million for favoring its shopping, hotel, transport and sports services in search results and restricting app developers from promoting cheaper payment options outside the Play Store.
Together, the measures highlight growing EU scrutiny of Google’s digital ecosystem, with regulators targeting how the company uses its control over Android, Search and Google Play to compete with rival services across the market.
