Germany regulator says Google, Perplexity subject to media laws

Investing.com -- Germany's media regulator stated Tuesday that Google's AI Overviews and Perplexity AI must comply with the country's media laws. The announcement follows a German court decision that found Google liable for inaccurate information generated by the feature.

The Commission for Licensing and Supervision, ZAK, which represents Germany's 14 state media authorities, determined that AI-generated news summaries and chatbot responses are content created by the providers themselves rather than simple displays of third-party material.

A court in Munich ruled that Google could be directly liable for allegedly false statements generated by its AI Overview feature. The court found that AI-produced summaries represent the company's own content rather than a mere display of third-party information, according to German newspaper publishers' association BDZV.

"AI search engines and chatbots are content providers, and we will consistently apply German media law to them from now on," ZAK Chairman Thorsten Schmiege said in a statement.

The regulator stated that the liability exemption under the European Union's Digital Services Act does not apply in these cases. The DSA generally shields platforms from responsibility for illegal user-generated content.

According to the regulator, Google's AI Overviews are displayed prominently within search results, making traditional lists of links less visible and thereby unfairly disadvantaging third-party media content.

The regulator also said that chatbots such as Perplexity influence the discoverability of news content when they select and present sources, links or recommendations alongside AI-generated answers. Such services could therefore qualify as media intermediaries and be subject to rules designed to safeguard media plurality.

Both companies can challenge the decisions through legal channels.

Perplexity declined to comment on the decision but said it complies with the EU's privacy rules, or GDPR, and holds SOC 2 Type II security and privacy certification.

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