The European Commission said on 16 April 2025 that it is examining whether Google distorted competition by slapping dodgy terms on publishers or slipping itself prime access to their material, which could tilt the field in favour of Google’s own AI kit.

Officials said they fear Google may have leaned on publishers’ work to power services such as AI Overviews and tapped YouTube uploads to train its generative models. The commission recently received a legal complaint from publishers that accused the search giant of steering readers away from news sites through those AI Overviews.

A Google spokesperson rumbled the usual bollocks that the complaint might choke innovation, which had nothing to do with it, might stop the outfit from stifling competition.

“Europeans deserve to benefit from the latest technologies, and we will continue to work closely with the news and creative industries as they transition to the AI era.” a spokesGoogle said.

The probe lands at a moment when Google has been clawing for momentum in the AI scrap. Its Gemini chat service received a significant upgrade last month, which sent shares skyward, prompting OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman to warn staff in a memo of a “code red” push to toughen up ChatGPT.

Brussels has been tightening the screws on Big Tech’s AI adventurism. On 10 April 2025, it opened a case into how Meta Platforms is stuffing its own AI bot into WhatsApp and trying to sideline rival AI players from the service.

European Commission competition commissioner Teresa Ribera said: “AI is bringing remarkable innovation and many benefits for people and businesses across Europe, but this progress cannot come at the expense of the principles at the heart of our societies”.

The latest case follows yet another investigation, launched in March, into how Google ranks news publishers in its search results. The commission can slap companies with fines worth more than 10 per cent of their annual worldwide turnover if it decides EU antitrust law has been breached.