Independent publishers push back against Google's AI summarization feature! The deep layers of the "AI Summarization" lawsuit challenging the EU

Introduction

On July 4th, the group "Independent Publishers Alliance (IPA)," primarily consisting of independent publishers, officially filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission, demanding the suspension and correction of the summary feature implemented in Google Search, known as AI Overviews. This feature, described by the publishing industry as a "threat to existence," raises questions about what it changes, who benefits, and who gets hurt. This article explores the details of the complaint, damage estimates, the outcry and support on social media, and the actions of regulatory authorities.infomoney.com.br

1. What is AI Overviews?

AI Overviews is a "preemptive answer" UI where a large language model (LLM) analyzes user search intent and summarizes multiple web sources to display directly at the top of the SERP. Google explains that in May 2024, ad slots will be added, and by May 2025, the feature will be available in over 200 countries and more than 40 languages.

2. The Core of the Complaint—"Forced Sharing Without Choice"

The IPA's document dated June 30 claims that ① using publishers' content for learning and summarization without permission, and ② the "forced choice" of summary refusal equating to exclusion from search results, constitutes an abuse of dominant position under competition law Article 102. Unlike the more common "self-preferencing," the focus is on "bundling of data consent and display opportunities."infomoney.com.br

3. Publishers' Wounds: Reality of 30-80% Traffic Drop

According to Nigeria's BusinessDay, the click-through rate on SERPs where AI Overviews appear has decreased by an average of 34.5%, and one major newspaper saw its page views halve from 1.5 million→800,000/day. Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince laments, "The crawl-to-referral ratio, which was 2:1 ten years ago, is now 18:1. Publishers have entered an era where 'footnotes go unread.'"

4. The Outcry and Irony Spreading on Social Media

• #StopStealingNews has become a top trend in Europe (approximately 54,000 posts as of the afternoon of July 4).

• SEO consultant Barry Schwartz points out on X that "Overviews are encroaching on People Also Ask, and anything below the middle is not even seen."

• Carly Steven from Mail Online lamented in May that "click-through rates on desktops are down by 56%."

• On the other hand, AI advocates cite Google's internal statistics, which state that "search behavior has deepened, and total queries have increased by 10%," emphasizing the "expansion of the quantitative pie."

5. The Joint Front of Foxglove & Movement for an Open Web

UK non-profit Foxglove Legal and the cross-industry organization MOW jointly demanded similar urgent measures from the CMA (UK Competition and Markets Authority). The slogan "AI Overviews take twice from publishers—content and traffic" spread on social media.

6. Google's Counterarguments

Google's spokesperson claims, "We drive billions of clicks daily, and traffic fluctuations are due to seasonal factors and updates." Furthermore, at I/O 2025, CEO Sundar Pichai countered that "the links included in AI Overviews have recorded a higher CTR than before."

7. The Perspective of Regulatory Authorities

• EU: With the DMA about to be enforced, search is expected to be classified as a "core platform." The possibility of interim measures is a short-term focus.

• UK CMA: Google is expected to be designated as a "strategic market operator" by October, with consideration of mandatory opt-out systems.

• USA: The lawsuit by Chegg against Google was filed in February and is proceeding concurrently.reuters.com

8. Three Countermeasures the Industry is Exploring

1. Strengthening Own Channels: The NY Times is expanding its audio and membership apps, while News Corp is expanding its licensing agreement with OpenAI.

2. Technical Block: There is a strong voice that robots.txt is insufficient, and the industry is proposing the standardization of an "AIO-block" tag.

3. Joint Negotiation Team: Aiming for a European version of the Australian News Media Bargaining Code, publishers and the advertising industry are strengthening their lobbying efforts.

9. The Future of the Media Business

AI Overviews accelerate the paradigm shift from "search = path" to "answer = goal." Publishers are forced to redefine "visibility and compensation",

• ① Evolving paywalls to "AI extraction-proof" types,

• ② "Automatic source billing" using content ID and blockchain,

• ③ Charging for articles themselves as "sources of answers" via LLM-linked APIs—such new models are being discussed.

10. Conclusion and Outlook

The IPA's complaint is not merely a cry over "reduced clicks," but a touchstone for redefining the value distribution of the entire search ecosystem. If the EU approves interim measures, AI Overviews may be forced to pause or undergo fundamental revisions. Conversely, if Google pushes through, a new norm of "search results = AI summaries + ads" may become fixed. In any case, the latter half of 2025 will see continued battles over the "constitution of search."