Rolling Stone’s parent company sues Google over AI Overviews

Penske Media Corporation, the publisher of Rolling Stone and The Hollywood Reporter, has sued Google over its AI Overviews feature. The company claims that the AI-generated summaries at the top of search results reduce the incentive for users to click through to the original content, leading to a significant drop in traffic and revenue, particularly from affiliate links. Penske is the first major American media company to take legal action against Google over this issue, but it's not the first case of its kind. Other plaintiffs include online education company Chegg and a group of independent publishers in Europe. The News/Media Alliance has also criticized the AI Overviews, calling them the "definition of theft." Google has defended the feature, stating that it helps people find search results more helpful and increase usage. However, Penske and other publishers argue that the AI summaries are hurting their businesses, leaving them in a difficult situation where they must either block Google from indexing their content or continue to provide training material for the AI, further damaging their operations.