Brussels, 10 February 2026, 15:24 (CET)
- The European Publishers Council has lodged an antitrust complaint with the EU, focusing on Google’s AI Overviews in Search
- Publishers claim Google uses their journalism without permission, offering neither effective opt-outs nor fair compensation
- The filing ramps up pressure amid the European Commission’s investigation into Google’s use of publisher content for AI
On Tuesday, the European Publishers Council lodged an antitrust complaint with EU regulators targeting Alphabet’s Google and its AI-generated summaries, called AI Overviews. The group alleges Google is exploiting publishers’ content “without authorisation, without effective opt-out mechanisms, and without fair remuneration.” (Reuters)
Publishers are pushing back against what they view as a steep shift in search behavior: Google serving up more answers directly, cutting down clicks to news sites. According to the council, this trend jeopardizes the traffic and ad revenue that support journalism, hitting smaller outlets particularly hard.
The council says this move might bolster the European Commission’s probe launched last December, which examines if Google’s search and AI tools create unfair trading terms for publishers. The complaint also calls out Google’s “AI Mode,” a chatbot-like feature gradually integrated into Search. (Channel News Asia)
The EPC’s complaint accuses Google LLC and Alphabet of abusing their dominant stance in general search services, violating Article 102 of the EU treaty— the EU’s central rule against market power abuse. According to the complaint, AI Overviews and AI Mode integrate AI-generated summaries and conversational replies straight into Search.
EPC chairman Christian Van Thillo described the filing as an effort to “stop a dominant gatekeeper” from using publishers’ content “without consent.” He argued the new AI features “undermine the economic compact” that supports the open web. Van Thillo also cautioned that if these practices continue, the harm could become “structural and irreversible.” (European Publishers Council)
The council argues that Google has shifted Search from merely directing users to sources into an answer engine that replaces original reporting and traps users within Google’s ecosystem.
It claims Google depends on publishers’ journalism not only for the summaries users see but also as raw material for AI training and “retrieval augmented generation,” a technique where AI gathers information from sources before crafting a response.
The EPC says publishers are stuck with an “untenable choice”: stay visible in Google Search but allow crawling and reuse for AI features, or opt out and risk disappearing from search results. It argues the technical controls Google mentions don’t actually offer meaningful protection.
The council also highlights pressure coming from outside traditional publishers. It noted that several AI providers have struck licensing deals with publishers, but argues that Google has mostly sidestepped such agreements, leaning on its search dominance to access content without paying for it.
One big question is how tough EU regulators will get. The Commission hasn’t clarified its approach to the EPC complaint yet. Their decision will likely depend on whether they view workable consent, opt-outs, and compensation as essential for AI in search. Google didn’t respond right away to requests for comment, Channel News Asia reported.
The EPC wants the Commission to take action that gives publishers back control over how AI uses their content. They’re pushing for clear transparency around usage and its consequences, plus a licensing and payment system linked to both the size and value of the publishers’ journalism.
