Penske Media Corporation Sues Google Over AI Summaries
Penske Media Corporation (PMC), the owner of Rolling Stone, Billboard, Variety, and The Hollywood Reporter, has filed a new lawsuit against Google. The complaint alleges that Google has been using publishers’ content without permission to generate AI-driven summaries, harming their business, Reuters reported.
This marks the first time a publishing company has taken Google and its parent firm Alphabet to court specifically over the display of AI summaries. Previously, other publishers and authors had sued different AI companies on similar copyright grounds. In Europe, Google is already facing antitrust complaints concerning its AI Overviews feature.
PMC’s Chief Executive Jay Penske said, “It is our responsibility to protect the best journalists and award-winning journalism, and to safeguard the future of digital media. Google’s current practices are putting that at risk.”
According to the lawsuit, Google requires publishers to allow their content to be used in AI Overviews as a condition of being indexed in search. This, the complaint argues, reduces clicks to publishers’ sites, thereby cutting advertising, subscription, and other revenue streams.
In response, Google spokesperson José Castañeda said AI Overviews make search more effective and create new opportunities for publishers to attract traffic. He dismissed the lawsuit as “baseless” and pledged to defend Google’s position.
