Penske Media Sues Google Over AI Summaries - Rolling Stone

Google Sued Over AI-Generated News Summaries

A new legal challenge has been filed against Google, alleging the unlawful utilization of news publishers' content for the creation of AI summaries.

This action is being brought forth by Penske Media Corporation (PMC), the parent company of prominent publications including Rolling Stone, Billboard, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Vibe, and Artforum.

First Lawsuit Targeting Google's AI Summaries

Penske’s lawsuit represents the initial legal effort specifically targeting Google and its parent, Alphabet, concerning the display of AI-generated summaries within search results.

Notably, both publishers and authors have previously initiated legal proceedings against other AI companies, raising similar concerns regarding copyright infringement.

Google is concurrently addressing an antitrust complaint related to AI Overviews within Europe.

Penske Media's Stance

“As a leading global publisher, we have a duty to protect PMC’s best-in-class journalists and award-winning journalism as a source of truth,” stated Penske Media CEO Jay Penske.

“Furthermore, we have a responsibility to proactively fight for the future of digital media and preserve its integrity — all of which is threatened by Google’s current actions.”

Concerns Over Business Model Disruption

Since the launch of its AI Overviews last year, Google has faced criticism for potentially undermining the business models of the publishers whose content is essential for generating accurate AI summaries and responses.

The lawsuit further contends that Google is leveraging its market dominance to compel PMC to allow the republication of its content within AI Overviews.

It also alleges that this content is being used to train Google’s AI models.

Google's Response

Google spokesperson José Castañeda asserted that AI Overviews enhance the utility of Google search.

Castañeda also stated that they “create new opportunities for content to be discovered.”

“Every day, Google sends billions of clicks to sites across the web, and AI Overviews send traffic to a greater diversity of sites,” Castañeda added.

“We will defend against these meritless claims.”

The Core of the Argument

The lawsuit posits that Penske Media currently permits Google to crawl its websites as part of a reciprocal arrangement – access in exchange for traffic.

This arrangement, it argues, is “the fundamental bargain that supports the production of content for the open commercial Web.”

However, the suit claims Google has recently begun to condition this access on additional terms to which PMC and other publishers have not consented.

Content Supply as a Condition

“As a condition of indexing publisher content for search, Google now requires publishers to also supply that content for other uses that cannibalize or preempt search referrals,” the lawsuit alleges.

The suit further states that the only recourse for Penske would be to remove its content from Google search entirely, a move that would be “devastating.”

Declining Traffic and Revenue

Penske claims to have experienced “significant declines in clicks from Google searches” following the rollout of AI Overviews.

This reduction in traffic translates to lower ad revenue for the publisher.

It also poses a threat to subscription and affiliate revenue, as these streams depend on users visiting PMC sites.

Disputed Traffic Data

While Google has disputed claims that AI Overviews reduce traffic to publishers, the lawsuit asserts, “Google has offered no credible competing information regarding search referral traffic.”

Context of Recent Antitrust Ruling

Penske’s lawsuit follows a recent antitrust case where Google narrowly avoided being ordered to break up its businesses.

A federal judge ruled Google acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in online search, but declined to order a breakup, citing increasing competition in the AI sector as a factor.

This post has been updated with a statement from Jay Penske.