The European Commission has just launched a comprehensive antitrust investigation into Google, bringing the tech giant under renewed fire. Regulators are now targeting how Google uses publisher content and YouTube videos to power its AI tools such as AI Overviews and AI Mode. The core problem in this new one Google’s EU investigation: Brussels believes Google is forcing creators and publishers to release their content without real choice, fair pay or adequate opt-out options, while denying competitors access to the same data. This could violate the rules prohibiting abuse of a dominant position.
The investigation, announced on December 10, 2025, marks another chapter in the long-running battle between them Google And EU Regulatory authorities have already imposed billions in fines on the company in recent years.
What exactly does Google’s EU investigation trigger?
European officials point to two big problems that are giving Google an unfair advantage in the boom AI racing:
- Publisher content in AI overviews and AI mode: Google crawls web articles to create AI summaries, but publishers receive no compensation and cannot opt out entirely without jeopardizing their costs Google search traffic. Since most websites rely on Google for visitors, saying “no” seems impossible.
- Exclusive access to YouTube content: Creators who upload videos must automatically give Google permission to use their content to train generative AI models. You will not receive payment and cannot refuse without losing the ability to post to YouTube at all. At the same time, Google’s terms prevent competing AI companies from training on the same YouTube data.
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Regulators fear that this setup will allow Google to develop stronger AI products while competitors suffer from a lack of high-quality training material. The Commission has officially announced this Google that it investigates possible violations of EU competition law.
If proven, Google could face hefty fines of up to 10% of its annual global revenue and orders to change its practices. The company now has the opportunity to react, but the result of this Google’s EU investigation could reshape the way Big Tech handles content from creators across Europe. Publishers and competing AI companies are watching closely, hoping for fairer rules in the age of generative AI.
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