French press body asks competition watchdog to act against Google AI summaries

Published Aug 11, 11:15 AM UTC

The Alliance of General Information Press, representing French newspapers and magazines, has asked France's competition watchdog to take action against Google's AI-generated article summaries. The trade group argues these summaries deprive publishers of readers, citing a 33-38% traffic drop estimated by communications regulator Arcom. The alliance calls for a decision similar to one that ordered Meta to negotiate payment plans with media for content use. Google has not responded to the request. This follows a 2022 dispute where Google was fined €500 million for using French press articles without payment. The alliance president, Marc Feuillee, stated that AI built on media content proves its value and demands shared remuneration.