EU investigates Google's use of online content for AI training
The European Commission opened a formal investigation into whether Google violated EU competition law by using online content from publishers and YouTube creators to train its AI models without adequate compensation or allowing them to refuse. The investigation concerns whether Google granted itself unfair advantages while restricting rival AI developers from accessing the same content.
What happened
The European Commission opened a formal investigation on December 9, 2025, into whether Google breached EU competition rules by using online content from publishers and YouTube creators to train its AI models without appropriate compensation or the ability for creators to refuse.
The investigation examines whether Google distorted competition by imposing unfair terms on publishers and content creators, or by granting itself privileged access to content, placing rival AI developers at a disadvantage.
The EU is concerned that Google used web publisher content to generate AI-powered services (AI Overviews and AI Mode) in search results without compensation and without offering publishers the option to refuse, and that Google used YouTube videos to train Gemini and Veo3 models without offering creators compensation or refusal rights.
Reported impact
The investigation concerns whether Google's practices distort competition in the AI market by giving itself unfair advantages over rival AI model developers.
Index analysis
The EU's competition chief Teresa Ribera stated: '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.'
YouTube's policies prohibit rival AI developers from using videos on its platform to train their own AI systems, while Google uses the same YouTube content to train its own generative AI models.
Governance controls
YouTube requires content creators to grant Google permission to use their data for different purposes, including training generative AI models, as part of the platform's terms and conditions.
Google maintains a setting that allows third-party companies to use YouTube videos for AI training only if creators or rights holders enable it, though YouTube itself uses all content for AI training without opt-in.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.