A Munich Regional Court has preliminarily ruled that Google is liable for false statements generated by its AI Overviews feature, requiring the company to prevent the spread of erroneous or inaccurate claims through its search engine. The ruling stems from a case involving two publishers who claimed that Google’s AI-generated summaries linked them to questionable business practices, scams, and subscription fraud without basis. According to the report, the affected companies sent Google a cease-and-desist letter, which the company denied, arguing that its AI summary feature warns users about potential errors and encourages independent verification. The court found that Google’s AI combined information about other companies flagged for possible illicit practices with data from the plaintiffs, generating associations not present in the original sources.
The court determined that unlike traditional search engines, which display links with third-party statements, Google’s AI produced 'independent, new, and substantial statements' based on a misinterpretation of online information. The ruling states that correcting misinformation is not the responsibility of third parties, and Google, as the sole entity capable of modifying its AI technology, must be held accountable. The court also rejected Google’s defense, noting that the challenged summary contained statements not found in the search results. This case represents a new interpretation of AI’s role in search results, holding large tech companies responsible for the influence of their AI developments on widely used platforms.
The court’s decision could have global implications for the artificial intelligence industry, as companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity AI also warn users about potential errors in their AI-generated responses. However, the ruling argues that such warnings are not sufficient to exempt developers from liability when AI generates new statements not present in original sources. The decision requires Google to remove defamatory statements and cover 80 percent of legal costs. Source: wired
