U.S. senators call for antitrust probe into generative AI providers
- Eight U.S. senators urged the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission to investigate generative AI content providers for potential antitrust violations.
- Concerns were raised that these providers use information from publishers without permission, harming their revenue and pushing them down search results.
- The investigation aims to address the impact of generative AI on competition and the financial viability of content creators.
On September 11, eight U.S. senators called for an antitrust investigation into generative AI content providers, urging the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to examine their practices. The senators expressed concerns that these providers utilize information from publishers without consent, diverting online traffic away from them and negatively impacting their revenue streams. Senator Amy Klobuchar highlighted that generative AI features often summarize or replicate content from other sources, which undermines the financial viability of journalists and content creators. The lawmakers argued that the generative AI features introduced by dominant online platforms are potentially exclusionary and violate antitrust laws. They noted that these AI-generated summaries frequently appear at the top of search results, pushing legitimate publishers further down the list and reducing the likelihood that users will visit their websites. This practice not only harms competition but also raises questions about the ethical use of copyrighted material. The senators pointed out that the scraping of information from news sites without directing users to the original sources constitutes unlawful conduct. They referenced a recent article from The New York Times, which indicated that the ChatGPT program provided near-verbatim excerpts from subscription-based publishers, raising further concerns about copyright infringement. This call for investigation reflects a growing scrutiny of generative AI technologies and their impact on traditional media and content creators. As lawmakers seek to address these issues, the future of generative AI and its relationship with original content remains uncertain.