According to The Verge, the European Commission has formally opened an investigation into Google over potential breaches of the EU’s Digital Markets Act. The core concern is that Google imposed unfair restrictions on web publishers and YouTube creators, using their content to train and fuel its own AI products—like AI Overviews in Search and its generative AI models—without providing proper compensation or a clear opt-out. Regulators are specifically looking at the use of content for “AI Overviews” and “AI Mode” in Search, as well as feeding YouTube videos into Google’s AI models. This is all tied to the looming threat of “Google Zero,” a scenario where Google Search stops sending traffic to external websites, instead keeping users within its own AI-powered ecosystem. The investigation, announced on June 28, 2024, could lead to significant fines and force major changes in how Google operates in Europe.
The Google Zero nightmare
Here’s the thing: “Google Zero” isn’t some far-off sci-fi concept. It’s the logical endpoint of what Google is already doing. For decades, the web’s economy was built on a simple deal: publishers create content, Google indexes it and sends traffic, publishers make money from ads. That deal is crumbling. If Google’s AI can summarize an article or answer a question directly on its results page, why would anyone ever click through? It starves the very sources it feeds on. And using YouTube videos to train models like Gemini? That’s a double-dip. They get the content for free, then build a product that could eventually replace the need to visit YouTube itself. It’s a brilliant, if brutal, strategy for Google. For everyone else, it’s existential.
Winners, losers, and a shifting landscape
So who wins in this new world? Obviously, Google consolidates its power if it pulls this off. It controls the query, the answer, and the user’s entire journey. The losers are clear: every independent publisher, blogger, and content creator who relied on organic search traffic. But look, it’s not just them. Other AI companies are losers here too—that’s why the EU is involved. How can a startup or even a big rival like Anthropic or OpenAI compete if they don’t have a massive, constantly updating firehose of web and video data to train on? Google has it, and this probe alleges they’re rigging the rules to keep it for themselves. The market impact could be a further entrenchment of the biggest players, making true competition in foundational AI models nearly impossible in Europe without regulatory intervention.
A broader reckoning for AI training
This isn’t just a Google problem. It’s the central tension of the modern AI era. These models need vast amounts of data, and that data was created by someone. The EU’s move signals that the “scrape now, ask questions later” approach is running out of road. We’re going to see more lawsuits, more investigations, and eventually, new norms. Will it lead to licensing deals and direct compensation? Probably. But it also might just mean the biggest companies with the deepest pockets and the most owned content—your Googles, your Metas—end up with an even bigger structural advantage. It’s a messy fight, and this EU probe is one of the biggest shots fired yet. The outcome will shape not just search, but the entire economics of the internet.
