Senators Urge FTC and DOJ to Investigate AI Tools for Potential Antitrust Violations

A group of Democratic senators, led by Amy Klobuchar, has called upon the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate whether AI tools that summarize and regurgitate online content are violating antitrust laws. These senators express concerns that such AI features harm content creators and publishers, especially at a time when the journalism industry is grappling with significant layoffs and consolidation.

As major platforms like Google and Meta continue to generate billions in advertising revenue by leveraging content from publishers, the senators argue that AI-powered tools worsen the situation by keeping users within the AI's platform rather than driving traffic to the original content creators' websites.

AI's Impact on Content Creators and Publishers

In the letter to the FTC and DOJ, the senators note that traditional search results would direct users to the publisher's website, allowing creators to benefit from advertising revenue and referral traffic. However, AI-generated summaries keep users on the platform, benefiting only the platform itself through ads and data collection. The letter also emphasizes that some AI tools misappropriate third-party content, passing it off as original AI-generated content, a practice that raises ethical and legal questions.

Publishers have few options to avoid this issue, as opting out of AI indexing would also remove their content from search engine results, significantly reducing referral traffic. This leads to a situation where creators are pitted against AI-generated content, with no way to profit from the use of their original material. These practices, according to the senators, create substantial competitive concerns in the marketplace for content and advertising revenues.

The FTC’s Role and Legislative Push

The senators are urging the FTC and DOJ to assess whether these AI features constitute exclusionary conduct or unfair methods of competition, which would violate U.S. antitrust laws. Although proving anticompetitive behavior will be challenging, given the high bar for such claims, the FTC has already shown an interest in regulating AI practices. The FTC recently launched an inquiry into the practices of major AI developers such as Alphabet (Google) and Microsoft.

This is not the first time Senator Klobuchar has taken action to protect journalism and local papers. Last year, she introduced legislation aimed at empowering news outlets during licensing negotiations, but the rise of AI tools circumvents the issue entirely by feeding content directly into AI models without compensating creators. If the FTC and DOJ find that they cannot act, the senators may push for new legislation that directly addresses the role of AI in content creation and distribution.

For more information on the letter and the senators' efforts, you can visit the FTC’s page on anticompetitive practices.