Google is facing a new lawsuit from Penske Media Corporation (PMC), the parent company of Rolling Stone, Billboard, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, and other publications. The suit accuses Google of illegally using publisher content to generate AI summaries in search results, claiming the practice harms journalism and undermines digital media.
PMC argues that Google is leveraging its monopoly power to coerce publishers into allowing their content to be republished in AI Overviews and to train its AI models. The lawsuit adds to broader copyright disputes between media companies and AI firms, while Google also faces an antitrust complaint in Europe over AI Overviews.
“As a leading global publisher, we have a duty to protect our journalists and preserve the integrity of digital media — all of which is threatened by Google’s current actions,” said PMC CEO Jay Penske.
Google defended its approach, with spokesperson José Castañeda stating that AI Overviews make search “more helpful” and drive “traffic to a greater diversity of sites.” He added, “We will defend against these meritless claims.”
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