Rome, 16 October 2025 – The Italian Federation of Newspaper Publishers (FIEG) announced on Wednesday that it has filed a formal complaint with the Italian communications authority, AGCOM, targeting Google’s AI Overviews feature. The federation accuses the service of siphoning off user traffic from publishers’ websites and undermining their core revenue model of online advertising.
According to FIEG, the AI-generated summaries that appear on search results pages effectively replace portions of the original content, meaning users no longer need to click through to the publishers’ sites. This, the publishers argue, erodes page views and ad impressions in a way that threatens the economic viability of journalistic outlets.
This complaint is part of a broader, coordinated push by European media organisations. The European Newspaper Publishers’ Association (ENPA) is helping to organise similar filings in multiple countries, with the shared objective of persuading the European Commission to initiate proceedings under the Digital Services Act (DSA). FIEG contends that Google may be breaching several key provisions of the DSA by deploying AI Overviews and, more recently, the new “AI Mode” — which replaces traditional search results entirely.
The Legal and Regulatory Stakes
Under the DSA, very large online platforms and search engines are subject to stricter transparency, accountability, and fairness obligations. Critics of Google’s AI features say those obligations are being flouted by embedding AI-summaries that compete with — rather than complement — original journalism. Some complainants argue that opting out of AI Overviews is not a meaningful option unless publishers are willing to forgo visibility entirely.
The complaint from FIEG and counterparts in Europe is asking regulators to determine whether Google’s approach violates DSA safeguards around ranking, plurality, and undue advantage to own services. If violations are confirmed, regulatory action could include fines or orders to adjust the behaviour of the platform.
Wider Pushback Across Europe
This is not an isolated protest. In Germany, for example, a coalition of media groups recently filed a DSA complaint against Google, accusing it of transforming AI Overviews into a “traffic killer” that drains users away from news sites.
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In earlier months, independent publishers across the EU also lodged an antitrust complaint with the European Commission, claiming that Google’s AI Overviews unfairly favor its own ecosystem at the expense of smaller players.
Google, for its part, has defended its approach by arguing that AI search tools help users by answering complex queries more efficiently and can serve to increase content discovery — not supplant it. But many media organizations remain unconvinced, citing early data and anecdotal evidence of substantial traffic declines tied to AI Overviews.
With FIEG’s complaint now on the desk of AGCOM, Italy joins the broader European contest over how AI should coexist with journalism. The contest hinges on whether regulators will interpret the DSA as mandating a rebalancing of digital power, or whether they will allow platforms like Google wide latitude in redesigning search experiences around AI.
If the European Commission opens formal proceedings, Google could face regulatory scrutiny across the bloc. The outcomes could reshape the distribution, monetisation and production of news in a world of AI-mediated access.
