The Independent Publishers Alliance files a complaint with the EU, accusing Google’s AI Overview of abusing market dominance! Here’s the full story!
Google is facing an antitrust complaint from the Independent Publishers Alliance, accusing the tech giant of exploiting its market dominance through its AI Overviews feature. The complaint, filed on June 30, 2025, with the European Commission, alleges that Google is using publishers’ content without permission, damaging their traffic, readership, and revenue.
AI Overviews, launched in May 2024, provide AI-generated summaries above traditional search results in over 100 countries. These summaries, which have ads since May 2025, often lead to “zero-click” searches, where users don’t visit publisher websites. According to the complaint, zero-click searches for news-related queries have risen dramatically.
The publishers argue they have no viable option to prevent their content from being used for AI training and summaries without being excluded from Google’s general search results, which they say is an abuse of power. They are seeking interim measures from the European Union to prevent further damage while the case is reviewed.
Organizations like Foxglove Legal and Movement for an Open Web have supported the complaint, with Foxglove’s Rosa Curling calling AI Overviews an “existential threat” to independent journalism.
In response, Google maintains that AI Overviews benefit users by providing quick summaries and continue to drive significant traffic to publisher sites. Google also argues that the claims of traffic loss are based on incomplete data.
This complaint is part of a broader wave of concerns about Google’s AI-driven innovations. Similar issues have been raised in the UK, and a U.S. lawsuit echoes these fears of reduced demand for original content, raising questions about the future of digital content distribution.
