Judge Dismisses 2 Antitrust Suits Over Google's AI Overviews
Updated
Updated · The Verge · Oct 1
Judge Dismisses 2 Antitrust Suits Over Google's AI Overviews
3 articles · Updated · The Verge · Oct 1
Summary
US District Judge Amit Mehta threw out antitrust lawsuits from Chegg and Penske Media, ruling their challenge to Google’s AI Overviews failed under antitrust law.
The publishers had argued Google forced sites to provide content for free or risk losing search visibility, but Mehta said an expectation of search traffic is not a legal agreement.
Mehta said the court was not unsympathetic to publishers hit by AI-driven search changes, yet wrote antitrust law cannot substitute for legislation addressing the economic effects of new technology.
Google’s AI search overhaul has already cut traffic to news publishers and smaller websites, even as the company is reportedly paying about 100 publishers in a pilot tied to AI Overviews, AI Mode and Gemini.