not unfriendly
While Google is getting the layoff it wanted, it’s not looking particularly good. Mehta acknowledges that Google’s approach to AI search may be unfair to web publishers, even if it is not illegal.
“The court does not treat plaintiffs’ alleged damages lightly,” he wrote. “Nor is it indifferent to the situation publishers now find themselves in and the consequences for journalists, educators and other online creators whose content Google takes and reuses without compensation.”
This case essentially comes down to the nature of the innovation. Google is changing the way search operates, and that could lead to economic damage. However, not all economic damage that a company may suffer is the result of an illegal act. Mehta says that antitrust laws cannot be applied in lieu of legislative action simply because something feels unfair: “The court is obligated to apply the law only as it is written, not as the court or any party believes it should be.”
Google will undoubtedly face more legal challenges over AI search, but it will be an uphill battle in US courts in the absence of new legislation, and lawmakers have been slow to adapt to the AI era. Publishers may have better luck abroad. The European Commission is currently considering these same issues and tends to take a dimmer view of Big Tech behavior. The UK has also ordered Google to provide an AI opt-out for sites that want to remain in organic search results.
Google is exploring ways to pay sites directly for contributing to AI answers, but its pilot program is reportedly not going well with publishers.
