U.S. judge tosses antitrust lawsuits against Google over AI content summaries
A federal judge in Washington dismissed antitrust claims by Chegg and Penske Media, ruling that their expectations of search traffic do not constitute a legal agreement.
Education platform Chegg and media company Penske Media, which also owns Billboard and Variety, sued Google alleging antitrust violations for requiring AI-generated summaries of their content to remain in search results. The lawsuit claimed the practice diverted traffic and cut revenue. In a decision issued on September 30, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington dismissed the case, emphasizing that the plaintiffs only expressed an expectation of traffic, which does not create a binding agreement.
He expressed sympathy for publishers but noted that antitrust law cannot replace legislative action on innovation-related economic harms. Google denied any wrongdoing, and neither party has commented further. The ruling follows a similar dismissal of related claims earlier in the year.
Why it matters
The decision clarifies that expectations of search traffic are not enforceable under antitrust law, affecting how publishers negotiate with tech platforms.
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