Setback for Google as EU court adviser warns AI chatbot may breach copyright rules

EU court adviser warns Google's Gemini AI chatbot could violate copyright rules by using publishers' articles to generate responses to user queries, potentially leading to fees or penalties. The case involves Hungarian website operator Like Company and US-based Google, and could have implications for other media companies facing traffic loss to AI-generated summaries.

Advocate General Maciej Szpunar stated that Gemini's answers may infringe publishers' reproduction rights when it accesses content without proper compensation. The court will rule in the coming months, following the majority of its advisers' non-binding opinions. Google maintains that it complies with EU law and respects publishers' rights through controls.

The European Publishers Council emphasized the importance of distinguishing between search indexing and AI-generated answers that replace original reporting.