Educational technology company Chegg has initiated legal action against Google, alleging that the tech giant’s utilization of AI-powered search result summaries has negatively impacted Chegg’s website traffic and revenue.
In a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Chegg accuses Google of engaging in unfair competitive practices, such as reciprocal dealing and monopoly maintenance. Chegg claims that Google exerts excessive control over its search engine monopoly, compelling businesses to provide their content in exchange for inclusion in search results.
Chegg asserts that Google’s actions constitute unjust enrichment, as the company allegedly benefits financially from the intellectual property of third parties without fair compensation. The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages, injunctive relief restraining Google’s alleged unlawful and unfair conduct, and other forms of appropriate relief.
Chegg is not the first publisher to raise concerns about Google’s AI-powered search summaries. Several news outlets have reported a decline in website traffic due to Google’s AI-generated responses, which aggregate information from various sources to address user queries.
Original source: Read the full article on TechCrunch
