SANTIAGO, Chile, May 7 (UPI) — Chile’s five largest television networks filed an antitrust suit against Google, accusing the tech giant of abusing its dominant position in the search engine and digital advertising markets.
The broadcasters said they broight legal action because Google’s alleged anti-competitive practices have caused news organizations to lose revenue through the use of their content on YouTube, the company’s search engine and artificial intelligence-generated summaries.
“Google controls access to audiences and digital advertising, capturing the economic value of journalism produced and financed by others without assuming the responsibilities that role implies,” said Pablo Vidal, president of Chile’s National Television Association, known as Anatel.
Vidal said news outlets have been forced to reduce newsroom staff and scale back regional coverage, weakening oversight of political power and posing “a concrete threat to media pluralism and, therefore, democracy.”
The broadcasters’ association said television networks’ share of advertising investment has fallen from 50% to less than 25% because of Google’s practices. The lawsuit asks the Tribunal for the Defense of Free Competition to determine whether anti-competitive conduct occurred, impose sanctions against Google and adopt measures to ensure fair competition in the market.
Anatel said the legal action reflects a broader global trend. Authorities and media organizations in the United States, Europe, Canada and Australia have also accused or sued Google and other technology companies, including Meta, over similar conduct.
Cristián Núñez-Pacheco, director of new business and technology at Chilean broadcaster Canal 13, said the case seeks to regulate the relationship between media organizations and their audiences.
“We are moving toward a scenario of absolute intermediation by Google or artificial intelligence models, preventing us from reaching the public directly,” he told Chilean newspaper La Tercera.
Núñez-Pacheco said search engines and AI systems use and extract information from media outlets, reducing direct access to their platforms.
“Users no longer click on our platforms or access our videos. They simply consume a summary captured by big tech companies,” he said.
The lawsuit follows similar legal actions filed before the same tribunal. In 2024, Chilean media holding company Copesa became the first media organization in Latin America to sue Google over similar allegations.
Copesa accused the U.S. technology company of diverting news traffic to its own platforms and failing to compensate media outlets for content displayed through its search services. The company requested a fine of about $48.5 million. The case remains under investigation.
Google told local media it has not yet been formally notified of the lawsuit and will comment once it reviews the full details of the case.
