Google Faces Lawsuit by Owners of Rolling Stone and Billboard for AI-Related Matter
In a recent legal move, the Penske Media Corporation (PMC) has filed a lawsuit against Google, alleging the tech giant's use of artificial intelligence (AI) summaries in YouTube videos without consent. The Penske Media Corporation is the parent company of several renowned publications, including Rolling Stone, Billboard, and Variety.
The lawsuit claims that Google's practice leads to a decrease in traffic to the websites of Penske Media's publications, as around 20% of Google search queries that lead to Penske Media's media sites now show AI summaries instead of directing users to the original content. This, in turn, has resulted in a significant drop in affiliate marketing revenue for Penske Media, with the revenue dropping by more than a third from its peak at the end of 2024.
Google, on the other hand, argues that AI summaries make content search more convenient for users and "direct traffic to a broader range of sites." The tech giant also claims that it includes sites in search results only if it can use their news articles in its AI summaries.
YouTube is reportedly conducting an experiment with certain YouTube Shorts, using AI for video quality processing. According to the lawsuit, this processing gives the appearance that the video was generated by AI, despite being recorded by a human. YouTube's head of editorial and author relations, Rene Ritchie, confirmed the experiment on August 20 via X.
The AI processing on YouTube videos, as reported, smooths out wrinkles on shirts, changes the shape of ears, makes skin smoother, and makes the image sharper and clearer. Some YouTube bloggers have expressed concern that these alterations could undermine audience trust.
Google intends to "defend against these unfounded allegations." The company, which holds nearly 90% of the U.S. search market, according to a federal court decision, has not yet commented on potential financial implications for YouTube or its partner sites due to this AI processing.
However, Google would have to pay publishers for the right to use texts, including for training AI models, as stated in the lawsuit. The lawsuit between Penske Media and Google is ongoing, and further developments are expected in the coming months.
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