Judge dismisses antitrust lawsuits over Google's AI Overviews

A federal judge has dismissed a pair of antitrust lawsuits filed by Chegg and Penske Media Corporation (PMC), the parent company of Rolling Stone, which accused Google of abusing its monopoly power to drive away web traffic through its AI-powered search features. US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that PMC and Chegg's claims do not stand up to antitrust law, writing that the plaintiffs only pleaded an "expectation" that Google would send them traffic—not an agreement. Judge Mehta, who previously issued a landmark antitrust ruling against Google in 2024, acknowledged that the court is not "unsympathetic to the situation publishers now find themselves in," but stated that antitrust rules cannot substitute for legislative action to address the economic impact of new innovation. The lawsuits, filed last year, alleged that Google coerced publishers into providing content for AI Overviews for free or risk disappearing from search results, thereby diverting traffic and hurting revenue. Meanwhile, publishers continue to experience the effects of Google's AI search overhaul, with traffic to news outlets and small websites declining steeply. According to The Information, Google is currently paying around 100 publishers as part of a pilot program for contributions to AI Overviews, AI Mode, and Gemini.

(Source：The Verge)