TLDR:
Google was fined $271.7 million by a French regulator for breaching EU intellectual property rules with its AI service Gemini, formerly known as Bard. Google trained the tool on content from publishers without notifying them, leading to concerns about copyright violations.
- France’s competition watchdog fined Google for breaching intellectual property rules in its dealings with media publishers.
- Google’s AI-powered chatbot Bard, now rebranded as Gemini, was trained on content from publishers and news agencies without their knowledge.
Key Elements of the Article:
France’s competition watchdog fined Alphabet’s Google $271.7 million for violations related to EU intellectual property rules concerning its AI service. The AI chatbot Bard, later renamed Gemini, used content from publishers and news outlets without their consent, leading to concerns about copyright infringement. Google accepted the settlement but argued that the fine was disproportionate.
The watchdog pointed out that Google violated commitments to good faith negotiations and transparency with publishers. The fine reflects a broader issue in the industry where publishers aim to protect their content from unauthorized use by AI services. Other tech companies, like Microsoft and OpenAI, have faced similar lawsuits for unauthorized use of content to train AI models.