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New York Post
12 hours ago
- Business
- New York Post
Google hit with antitrust complaint in EU over AI summaries harming web traffic to news sites: report
Google's controversial AI-generated summaries — which have been blamed for crushing the traffic of US news sites — have drawn an antitrust complaint in the European Union from a group of independent publishers. The complaint, dated June 30 and submitted by the Independent Publishers Alliance, accuses Google of abusing its dominant position in online search by promoting its own AI-generated summaries over links to original content. The filing by the Independent Publishers Alliance, seen by Reuters, requests that the European Commission impose interim measures to prevent what it describes as 'irreparable harm' to publishers. 3 Google's artificial intelligence tools are being blamed for harming publishers' businesses. Koshiro K – 'Google's core search engine service is misusing web content for Google's AI Overviews in Google Search, which have caused, and continue to cause, significant harm to publishers, including news publishers in the form of traffic, readership and revenue loss,' the complaint alleges. The court action comes as damning data revealed that the AI Overviews have resulted in 37 of the top 50 US news domains suffering year-over-year traffic declines since its launch in May 2024, according to digital intelligence firm SimilarWeb. A report by SimilarWeb also found that the AI summaries have led to a significant increase in the frequency of 'zero clicks' to search queries. The percentage of web searches related to news that end without a click to a news site jumped to 69% in May 2025 from 56% for the same month last year, SimilarWeb found. A spokesperson for the Competition and Markets Authority, the EU's antitrust agency, confirmed to The Post that it received the complaint. 'Last week, we proposed to designate Google with strategic market status in search and search advertising. If designated, this would allow us to introduce targeted measured to address specific aspects of how Google operates search services in the UK,' the rep said. AI Overviews are summaries generated using Google's artificial intelligence models and are displayed at the top of general search results. The feature is available in more than 100 countries. Google began incorporating advertisements into AI Overviews this past May. The publishers allege that Google's practice of displaying its own summaries above hyperlinks disadvantages original content and is made worse by the lack of control publishers have over how their material is used. 3 A group of independent publishers in the European Union filed an antitrust complaint against Google over its AI Overviews technology. dts News Agency Germany/Shutterstock 'Publishers using Google Search do not have the option to opt out from their material being ingested for Google's AI large language model training and/or from being crawled for summaries, without losing their ability to appear in Google's general search results page,' the complaint alleges. The Movement for an Open Web, whose members include digital advertisers and publishers, and British nonprofit Foxglove Legal Community Interest Company are also signatories to the complaint. The three organizations are seeking regulatory intervention to address what they say is an urgent threat to competition and access to news. Foxglove co-executive director Rosa Curling said the consequences of AI Overviews for news publishers are severe. 'Independent news faces an existential threat: Google's AI Overviews,' Foxglove co-executive director Rosa Curling said. 'That's why with this complaint, Foxglove and our partners are urging the European Commission, along with other regulators around the world, to take a stand and allow independent journalism to opt out.' A Google spokesperson defended the AI Overviews feature and disputed the characterization of its impact on publishers. 3 The complaint submitted by the Independent Publishers Alliance accuses Google of abusing its dominant position in online search by promoting its own AI-generated summaries over links to original content. Google 'New AI experiences in Search enable people to ask even more questions, which creates new opportunities for content and businesses to be discovered,' the spokesperson told Reuters. Google added that the company sends billions of clicks to websites each day and that traffic fluctuations can be influenced by many factors. 'The reality is that sites can gain and lose traffic for a variety of reasons, including seasonal demand, interests of users, and regular algorithmic updates to Search,' the spokesperson said. The claims in the EU complaint echo a similar argument made in a lawsuit filed in the United States by an education technology company, which alleges that Google's AI Overviews are eroding demand for original content and damaging the competitive ability of publishers, resulting in declines in both traffic and subscriptions. Google has faced several antitrust investigations on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean in recent years. The tech giant is appealing a $4.7 billion fine imposed by the European Commission for allegedly abusing its dominance with the Android operating system. Last month, an advisor to the EU's top court recommended the fine be upheld. The European Commission is also continuing investigations into Google's conduct in digital advertising and search, with potential for further regulatory action. In the United States, a federal judge ruled in August 2024 that Google violated antitrust law by maintaining monopolies in general search and search advertising, citing exclusive deals such as those with Apple. A verdict after a trial on the remedy phase — which could include breaking up Google — is expected next month. In a separate ruling in April 2025, another judge found Google had illegally monopolized online advertising markets by controlling both the buy and sell sides of the ad exchange. With Post Wires
New York Post
a day ago
- Business
- New York Post
Google AI summaries increase frequency of ‘zero clicks' to search results, sinking traffic to news sites: report
Google's AI Overviews feature has led to a significant increase in the frequency of 'zero clicks' to search queries — drastically reducing traffic to news websites, according to a new report. Since the Big Tech giant rolled out its artificial intelligence tool in May 2024, the percentage of web searches related to news that end without a click to a news site jumped to 69% in May 2025 from 56% for the same month last year, according to the latest figures from digital intelligence firm SimilarWeb. The decrease in 'click-through rates' has resulted in overall organic traffic to news sites — which typically comes through Google's dominant search engine — sinking to under 1.7 billion visits in May 2025 from a peak of more than 2.3 billion in mid-2024, the SimilarWeb data shows. Advertisement 4 Google's AI Overviews feature is significantly reducing traffic to news websites thanks to the increase in the frequency of its 'no click-throughs' on search results, according to a report. Koshiro K – The numbers were first reported by TechCrunch. Earlier this week, SimilarWeb published data showing that 37 of the top 50 news domains suffered year-over-year traffic declines following the launch of AI Overviews. Advertisement When contacted about the latest SimilarWeb data, a Google spokesperson referred The Post to comments it provided about the plummeting web traffic of news sites. 'We've seen many inaccurate claims about traffic from Search, often based on speculative or incomplete information, questionable methodology, or data that predates AI Overviews,' the rep had said. The spokesperson added that 'new AI experiences in Search enable people to ask even more questions, which creates new opportunities for businesses and content to be discovered.' 4 OpenAI's ChatGPT has boosted referral traffic to news sites, but not enough to compensate for the loss caused by Google's AI Overviews. AP Advertisement Google faces the prospect of being broken up after a judge labeled the company a 'monopolist' in ruling that it violated federal antitrust laws to build a dominant hold over the online search market. A verdict on the remedy is expected next month. The surge in 'zero clicks' highlights how users are increasingly consuming news directly through AI-generated summaries, bypassing traditional publishers entirely. Landing high on Google's search page results and using traditional SEO strategies are no longer delivering the same value for news publishers, the SimilarWeb report said. Keep up with today's most important news Stay up on the very latest with Evening Update. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters Advertisement 'Solutions to the news publishers' crisis are few and far between,' the report said. Even the rise of OpenAI's ChatGPT, which is becoming a more popular source of news content, has not compensated for the steep drop in traffic from Google, according to the SimilarWeb data. From January through May 2024, ChatGPT referrals to news sites stood at just under 1 million. That number jumped to more than 25 million in 2025. The report — titled 'AI is rapidly changing how people consume news' — also noted disparities in how different news outlets are faring under the new AI-driven referral ecosystem. Reuters has seen an 8.9% year-over-year increase in ChatGPT referral traffic, followed by the New York Post at 7.1% and Business Insider at 6.5%. Last year, The Post's parent company, News Corp, and OpenAI struck a landmark five-year, $250 million deal giving the Sam Altman-led startup access to current and archived content from the media giant's publications — including The Post, the Wall Street Journal, The Sun and The Times (UK). Topics like stocks, finance and sports account for the majority of ChatGPT's news-related prompts, the Similarweb report found. However, interest in subjects like politics, the economy and weather is also growing. Advertisement The Similarweb report suggested this trend may indicate a user shift from seeking 'reactive information' toward deeper, 'issue-driven engagement' via AI tools. 4 SimilarWeb found that 37 of the top 50 news domains, including CNN, suffered year-over-year traffic declines following the launch of AI Overviews last May. Getty Images According to SimilarWeb, usage of the ChatGPT app has more than doubled in the past six months. In response to pressure from the publishing sector, Google recently introduced a tool called Offerwall for publishers using Google Ad Manager. Advertisement The service allows publishers to test monetization options beyond traditional ad-driven models, such as offering micropayments or prompting users to subscribe to newsletters to access content. Google said Offerwall screens can also be customized by publishers. 4 Last year, News Corp, The Post's parent company, struck a landmark content-sharing deal with ChatGPT maker OpenAI. Christopher Sadowski Many outlets have begun experimenting with different forms of monetization, including more aggressive paywalls. Advertisement Still, the media industry has been hard-hit by layoffs. In a recent interview with The New York Times' 'Hard Fork' podcast, Altman acknowledged the growing economic pressure brought on by AI's rapid adoption. 'I do think there will be areas where some jobs go away, or maybe there will be some whole categories of jobs that go away,' Altman said. Advertisement 'And any job that goes away, even if it's good for society and the economy as a whole, is very painful — extremely painful — in that moment … there is going to be real pain here in many cases.' The Post has sought comment from OpenAI.
New York Post
20-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
OnlyFans users face prison under harsh new Swedish prostitution law
OnlyFans users in Sweden could face prison sentences under a harsh new law that treats buying online sex shows the same as paying a prostitute for sex. The law, which will take effect July 1, also criminalizes profiting from or promoting others who perform sexual acts for payment on demand. 'This is a new form of sex purchase, and it's high time we modernize the legislation to include digital platforms,' Swedish member of parliament Teresa Carvalho said after the bill passed. 4 OnlyFans users in Sweden could face prison sentences under a harsh new law that treats buying online sex shows the same as paying a prostitute for sex. Koshiro K – Under the new law, it will be illegal to pay someone to carry out a sexual act remotely — such as on a live video stream — for the specific purpose of that act being viewed by the buyer. The law targets live, specially-commissioned interactions — which are especially lucrative and popular among many porn stars on online platforms. Watching and paying for pre-recorded adult content will remain legal. Carvalho, who is part of Sweden's left-wing opposition party, the Social Democrats, said the law is not aimed at targeting OnlyFans models themselves. 4 'This is a new form of sex purchase, and it's high time we modernize the legislation to include digital platforms,' Swedish member of parliament Teresa Carvalho said after the bill passed. Facebook/Teresa Carvalho Instead, she said it will protect young people and other individuals vulnerable to exploitation. She pointed to links between online exploitation and grooming with drug abuse, human trafficking, and prostitution. The bill was proposed by the Swedish parliament's justice committee and received cross-party backing. 4 Swedish OnlyFans model Elsa Thora is seen in an undated Instagram post. Instagram/ In Sweden, paying for sex is already illegal and faces a sentence of up to one year in prison. Sweden's sex trafficking laws focus on punishing the buyers, but not the sex workers. Pimping carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison. This new law cracking down on OnlyFans and other adult sites is similar to the SESTA/FOSTA law passed in the US in 2018 during President Trump's first term in office, which punished platforms that facilitate sex work, Yigit Adin, activist at the European Sex Workers' Rights Alliance, told But others in Sweden want the law to go further, and have called for a total ban on platforms like OnlyFans. 'It is a forum where sexual services are also sold. Prostitution or the sex trade is constantly taking new forms, and it is important that politicians and legislators keep up with the developments that are taking place,' Social Democrats politician Annika Strandhäll told the Swedish newspaper Expressen. 4 Swedish OnlyFans model Cina Podenphant is seen in an undated Instagram post. Instagram/cinapodenphant She also called on age limits on porn sites to shield children from harmful material. 'From the perspective of Swedish women, we see a big problem with the access to gross violent pornography that very young children in Sweden today have, just by pressing a button on their phones,' she said. 'We protect our children in many different ways from gaining access to different things that are not appropriate in our society. For example, if they go to a gambling site, or from having access to alcohol or similar,' she added.
