EU launches antitrust probe into Google’s use of online content for AI purposes
Newsflash: The European Commission has opened an antitrust probe into whether Google is breaching EU competition rules by using online content from web publishers and its YouTube service for artificial intelligence purposes.
The EC says:
The investigation will notably examine whether Google is distorting competition by imposing unfair terms and conditions on publishers and content creators, or by granting itself privileged access to such content, thereby placing developers of rival AI models at a disadvantage.
The Commission is concerned that Google has used web publishers’ content without permission or compensation, both to create AI-powered services and to train its AI models.
It explains:
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The content of web publishers to provide generative AI-powered services (‘AI Overviews’ and ‘AI Mode’) on its search results pages without appropriate compensation to publishers and without offering them the possibility to refuse such use of their content. AI Overviews shows AI-generated summaries responsive to a user’s search query above organic results, while AI Mode is a search tab similar to a chatbot answering users’ queries in a conversational style. The Commission will investigate to what extent the generation of AI Overviews and AI Mode by Google is based on web publishers’ content without appropriate compensation for that, and without the possibility for publishers to refuse without losing access to Google Search. Indeed, many publishers depend on Google Search for user traffic, and they do not want to risk losing access to it.
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Video and other content uploaded on YouTube to train Google’s generative AI models without appropriate compensation to creators and without offering them the possibility to refuse such use of their content. Content creators uploading videos on YouTube have an obligation to grant Google permission to use their data for different purposes, including for training generative AI models. Google does not remunerate YouTube content creators for their content, nor does allow them to upload their content on YouTube without allowing Google to use such data. At the same time, rival developers of AI models are barred by YouTube policies from using YouTube content to train their own AI models.
The Commission will now carry out its in-depth investigation into whether Google has breached EU competition rules.
Key events
Elsewhere in the markets, shares in Danish wind-energy developer Orsted have hit a four-month high after a US federal judge ruled President Donald Trump’s executive order banning new wind projects was illegal.
Judge Patti Saris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled that Trump’s effort to halt virtually all leasing of wind farms on federal lands and waters was “arbitrary and capricious” and violates U.S. law.
Analysts at RBC Europe Ltd. said in a note that the ruling “should put to rest any remaining uncertainty for developers with projects currently under construction in the US.”
In the City, shares in British American Tobacco have dropped by 3.5% this morning after it predicted its revenue and profits this year will come in at the lower end of its mid-term targets.
BAT told shareholders that its vape sales in the US continue to be hit by “illicit proliferation” – the rise of sales of illegal vaping devices, often with sugary flavors designed to attract young people.
It believs its Vuse division is “well positioned to benefit from stronger Federal and State level enforcement”.
Overall, CEO Tadeu Marroco says BAT remains on track to hits its full-year goals, and announced the company will increase its buy-back programme to £1.3bn for 2026.
Investors, though, have made BAT the top faller on the FTSE 100 so far this morning.
EU launches antitrust probe into Google’s use of online content for AI purposes
Newsflash: The European Commission has opened an antitrust probe into whether Google is breaching EU competition rules by using online content from web publishers and its YouTube service for artificial intelligence purposes.
The EC says:
The investigation will notably examine whether Google is distorting competition by imposing unfair terms and conditions on publishers and content creators, or by granting itself privileged access to such content, thereby placing developers of rival AI models at a disadvantage.
The Commission is concerned that Google has used web publishers’ content without permission or compensation, both to create AI-powered services and to train its AI models.
It explains:
-
The content of web publishers to provide generative AI-powered services (‘AI Overviews’ and ‘AI Mode’) on its search results pages without appropriate compensation to publishers and without offering them the possibility to refuse such use of their content. AI Overviews shows AI-generated summaries responsive to a user’s search query above organic results, while AI Mode is a search tab similar to a chatbot answering users’ queries in a conversational style. The Commission will investigate to what extent the generation of AI Overviews and AI Mode by Google is based on web publishers’ content without appropriate compensation for that, and without the possibility for publishers to refuse without losing access to Google Search. Indeed, many publishers depend on Google Search for user traffic, and they do not want to risk losing access to it.
-
Video and other content uploaded on YouTube to train Google’s generative AI models without appropriate compensation to creators and without offering them the possibility to refuse such use of their content. Content creators uploading videos on YouTube have an obligation to grant Google permission to use their data for different purposes, including for training generative AI models. Google does not remunerate YouTube content creators for their content, nor does allow them to upload their content on YouTube without allowing Google to use such data. At the same time, rival developers of AI models are barred by YouTube policies from using YouTube content to train their own AI models.
The Commission will now carry out its in-depth investigation into whether Google has breached EU competition rules.
Chocolate prices up 18.4% (!) in last year
Chocolate prices are up a painful 18.4% on this time last year, Worldpanel by Numerator’s grocery inflation report shows.
That follows a sharp rise in cocoa prices this year, following poor harvests in Africa, which has prompted some biscuit makers to put less chocolate into their products.
UK grocery inflation sticks at 4.7%
UK grocery price inflation has held steady at 4.7% in November, as supermarkets offer discounts to lure shoppers into their stores.
Data provider Worldpanel by Numerator has reported that 31.2% of spending was on promoted items in November, up from 30% this time last year.
Fraser McKevitt, Head of Retail and Consumer Insight at Worldpanel Division, says:
Retailers are pulling out all the stops to win shoppers over as they gear up for one of the most important trading periods of the year.
One in five households tell us that they’ve been struggling financially and that’s been largely consistent over the past two years.
With the cost of living still biting for many this Christmas, just under one third of all spending is on promotion as supermarkets find ways to shield shoppers from the impact of price rises.
China’s tech stocks have slipped slightly following Trump’s announcement last night.
China’s SSE Star Chip index dropped by 1% at the start of trading, before recovering slightly to a 0.43% fall.
China’s CSI semiconductor industry index had a similar drop, before recovering to a 0.36% fall.
Nvidia: We applaud President Trump’s decision
Trump’s decision follows months of lobbying by Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang, so it’s unsurprising that the company has welcomed it.
“We applaud President Trump’s decision,” said a Nvidia spokesperson. He added that offering the H200 chips “to approved commercial customers, vetted by the Department of Commerce, strikes a thoughtful balance that is great for America”.
Nvidia’s H200 chips are the company’s second-most powerful. They’re far more advanced than the H20, which was originally designed as a lower-powered model for the Chinese market, but which was banned from sale to China by the US in April.
Last night, Donald Trump insisted that Nvidia’s most powerful AI chips wouldn’t be sold to China, posting:
Nvidia’s U.S. Customers are already moving forward with their incredible, highly advanced Blackwell chips, and soon, Rubin, neither of which are part of this deal.
My Administration will always put America FIRST. The Department of Commerce is finalizing the details, and the same approach will apply to AMD, Intel, and other GREAT American Companies. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
Introduction: Trump clears way for Nvidia to sell powerful AI chips to China
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.
Donald Trump has been accused of a “colossal economic and national security failure” for allowing Nvidia to export its H200 artificial intelligence chip to China.
The US president announced last night he has granted Nvidia permission to ship H200 chips to China in exchange for a 25% surcharge for the US, a move that could allow the world’s most valuable company to win back billions of dollars in lost business.
Trump posted on his Truth Social site:
“I have informed President Xi, of China, that the United States will allow NVIDIA to ship its H200 products to approved customers in China, and other Countries, under conditions that allow for continued strong National Security.
President Xi responded positively!”
The news lifted Nvidia’s shares by 2.3% in after hours trading on Wall Steet.
But it was swiftly criticised by some senior Democratic senators, including Jeanne Shaheen and Chris Coons — the top two Democrats on the Senate foreign relations committee — Jack Reed, the Democratic head of the Senate armed services committee, and Elizabeth Warren, the Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Committee.
They, and other Democratic senators, urged Trump to reverse the decision saying:
“The Trump administration’s announcement that it will allow the export of advanced H200 AI chips to China is a colossal economic and national security failure. The H200s are vastly more capable than anything China can make and gifting them to Beijing would squander America’s primary advantage in the AI race.
“Access to these chips would give China’s military transformational technology to make its weapons more lethal, carry out more effective cyberattacks against American businesses and critical infrastructure, and strengthen their economic and manufacturing sector. Chinese AI giant DeepSeek said as recently as last week that the lack of access to advanced American-designed AI chips is the single biggest impediment to its ability to compete with U.S. AI companies. With this decision, President Trump is poised to remove that barrier.
“Senate Democrats and Republicans both know that the 21st century will be defined by whether the leading AI systems are built on values of free societies and free markets or the repressive, authoritarian values of the Chinese Communist Party. The Trump administration clearly doesn’t grasp the urgency of this contest. President Trump must reverse course and recommit to preserving American dominance in AI.”
In October Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said his company has gone from having 95% of the Chinese market to having 0%, and called bans on its sales to China a “strategic mistake”.
Selling H200 chips to China – the world’s second-largest economy – could mean a windfall worth billions of dollars for Nvidia, which is already valued at $4.5tn.
The agenda
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8am GMT: UK grocery inflation report
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2.15pm GMT: Treasury Committee hearing with Members of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee
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3pm GMT: House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee hearing: “Does the OBR play an effective role?”
