"Google Faces Lawsuit over 'Manipulative' AI Summaries of News Articles"

Google Faces Lawsuit Over AI Summaries in Search Results Penske Media Corporation, the parent company of Rolling Stone and The Hollywood Reporter, has filed a lawsuit against Google over allegations that the search giant's use of AI-generated summaries is harming its business. According to the lawsuit, which was filed on Friday, September 13, 2025, Google's AI Overview panel is showing users summaries of articles from PMC publications without permission, reducing traffic to these websites. The lawsuit claims that Google's actions are in violation of copyright laws and are causing significant financial harm to PMC. "As a leading global publisher, we have a duty to protect our best-in-class journalists and award-winning journalism as a source of truth," said Jay Penske, CEO of Penske Media Corporation, in a statement. This is not the first time that Google has faced criticism over its use of AI-generated summaries. In Europe, the company is facing an antitrust complaint over its AI Overviews. Additionally, other publishers and authors have sued AI companies over related copyright concerns. Google has maintained that its AI-generated search result overviews and summaries do not harm traffic for publishers. However, PMC disagrees with this assessment and believes that Google's actions are having a significant impact on their business. According to Gizmodo, which first reported the lawsuit, "Penske's argument is pretty simple: by showing an AI-generated summary of an article at the top of the page via Google's AI Overview panel, users have little reason to click through to read the full article." This, in turn, reduces traffic to PMC publications and hurts their bottom line. The lawsuit marks a significant escalation in the ongoing debate over the use of AI-generated content. As more companies begin to rely on artificial intelligence to generate summaries and other types of content, concerns about copyright and fair use are likely to continue. In response to the lawsuit, Google has not commented publicly. However, the company has maintained that its AI-generated summaries are a valuable service for users, providing them with quick and easy access to relevant information. The outcome of this lawsuit is likely to have significant implications for the publishing industry as a whole. If PMC is successful in its claim, it could set a precedent for other publishers to take action against Google over similar concerns. For now, the case remains ongoing, with both sides preparing for what promises to be a lengthy and contentious battle. This story was compiled from reports by TechCrunch and Gizmodo.