French Newspapers Slam Google Over AI-Generated Summaries

A French federation of nearly 300 daily newspapers has filed a complaint against Google over its AI-generated search summaries, which they claim erode traffic to their websites. The APIG association, representing Le Figaro and other center-right publications, wants the competition authority to ensure that Google respects commitments made in 2022 as part of a compensation deal with French media groups.

APIG President Marc Feuillee stated that information has considerable value, and editors are seeking to share this value and receive compensation for using their content. The association claims that Google sprang the new artificial intelligence summaries without their consent, violating the 2022 agreement.

The competition authority had previously fined Google 250 million euros ($290 million) in 2024 for not respecting parts of the agreement. Many media groups have seen revenue dwindle over the past two decades as advertising moved online, with tech firms taking a significant share of profits.