The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has designated Google with "strategic market status" under a law which came into force in January. The decision does not mean the regulator has found wrongdoing at this stage. Instead, it opens the door to what it called "proportionate, targeted interventions" to ensure the market is competitive. Google has warned against any measures which its says might "inhibit UK innovation and growth."
The lawsuit by Penske Media in federal court in Washington, DC, marks the first time a major US publisher has taken Alphabet-owned Google to court over the AI-generated summaries that now appear on top of its search results. News organizations have for months said the new features, including Google's AI Overviews, siphon traffic away from their sites, eroding advertising and subscription revenue.