Google's Artificial Intelligence Challenged for Encouraging Unethical Practices that Jeopardize Content Creators' Profits, Asserts Lawsuit
In the ever-evolving world of online publishing, a significant shift is underway, as Penske Media, the parent company of renowned publications like Rolling Stone, Variety, Billboard, and The Hollywood Reporter, among others, has filed a lawsuit against Google. The lawsuit, which also involves Google's use of AI Overviews in search results, is set to potentially redefine the relationship between publishers and search engines.
The lawsuit alleges that Google is illegally using content from publishers to fill AI Overviews at the top of Google search results, a practice that has reportedly led to a noticeable drop in clickthrough rates to the source material. This move, Penske claims, is coercing publishers to acquiesce to the misappropriation of their content.
Google, however, has pushed back against the lawsuit, stating that AI Overviews provide a valuable service by neatly synthesizing summaries of information, reducing the need for users to scour through lists of links and read through multiple articles. The tech giant further claims that AI sends "higher quality clicks" to sites, meaning those visitors stay on those sites longer with more engagement.
This legal battle is not an isolated incident. Ziff Davis, the parent company of our website, has also filed a lawsuit against OpenAI for copyright infringement. Additionally, some publishers and authors have sued OpenAI, Perplexity, Anthropic, Microsoft, and Google, alleging improper licensing and profiting from high-quality human-made content.
The outcome of the Penske lawsuit could lead to further regulatory pressure on Google. If Penske wins, platforms may need to negotiate licensing deals with publishers for the right to include summaries in search or overview features. This could potentially subject "transformative" work, as dictated by a ruling in the Penske lawsuit, to copyright protections.
For decades, there has been a mutual relationship between online publishers and Google, with Google indexing sites across the internet to deliver up-to-date and relevant information. However, the advent of generative AI tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini is changing this relationship.
Robert Rosenberg, an intellectual property partner at Moses Singer, a New York-based firm, stated that a ruling could highlight how dominant platforms can impose their own terms due to their scale. This case underscores the need for clear guidelines in the use of AI-generated content and its impact on copyright protections.
In July 2024, the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that Google illegally protects its search monopoly. The Independent Publishers Alliance, a group of publishers based in London, filed a comprehensive antitrust complaint against Google with the EU Commission over the use of their content in AI overviews, but there is no public information indicating other specific publishers or authors have filed similar lawsuits as of now.
As the landscape of online publishing continues to evolve, it is crucial for all parties involved to navigate these changes with transparency and fairness, ensuring that the value of high-quality content is recognised and respected. The resolution of these lawsuits will undoubtedly shape the future of this digital industry.
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