Google is responsible for AI-generated overviews - German court

The American company Google bears direct legal responsibility for the content of AI-generated search summaries (AI Overviews). The regional court in the Bavarian capital announced on Friday a ruling issued on May 28 regarding a lawsuit by two Munich publishers, UNN reports, citing DW.

Details

The ruling states that AI-generated summaries in search results (Google AI Overview) falsely linked the publishers to fraud, opaque subscription schemes, and dubious business practices. In these AI summaries, the AI mixed information about the plaintiffs with data about other, genuinely questionable companies and invented connections that did not exist in the sources used.

Google insisted that it is not responsible for the data processing itself or the third-party content used in the process. The court unequivocally rejected this argument and ruled that an AI overview placed at the very top of search results is not merely a display of search results or a link to them, but independent content for which the search engine operator is responsible.

Since the AI summarizes results, evaluates the content of sources, and presents them in a structured form, Google thereby completely independently creates new statements that go beyond the simple provision of links, the court noted. Based on this, the case law of the Federal Court of Justice of Germany (BGH), according to which search engine operators are exempt from direct liability for the simple display of links to third-party content, is inapplicable in this case.

The court also rejected Google's evidence that users can independently verify sources via links and are aware of the inappropriateness of "blindly trusting AI-generated information." The court emphasized that the AI summary was a "self-contained statement, the content of which is clear without additional explanation." Furthermore, the AI overview did not indicate the possible unreliability of the information, the Munich court added.

A Google spokesperson, responding to the court's decision, stated that the company "invests significantly in the quality of AI Overviews to ensure the accuracy of information in the vast majority of responses." The company said it would carefully study the court's ruling.

The preliminary injunction prohibits the American search engine operator from distributing false statements about the plaintiffs in AI overviews and mandates the reimbursement of 80 percent of legal costs. This decision could set a precedent for the digital sphere. It is not yet legally binding, as Google has the right to appeal it.

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