Judge dismisses antitrust lawsuits over Google’s AI Overviews
A federal judge dismissed Chegg and Penske Media antitrust suits over traffic lost to Google AI Overviews.
US District Judge Amit Mehta dismissed antitrust lawsuits by Chegg and Penske Media Corporation, parent of Rolling Stone, which accused Google of using monopoly power to obtain publisher content for AI Overviews and divert traffic. Mehta wrote that an expectation of search referrals is not an agreement and that antitrust law cannot replace legislation addressing the economic effects of new technology, while saying the court was not unsympathetic to publishers. Separately, The Information reported Google is paying about 100 publishers in a pilot covering AI Overviews, AI Mode, and Gemini. The Verge disclosed that it is part of Penske Media.