Google faces deeper antitrust probe in Brazil over news content use

Investing.com -- Brazil's antitrust regulator CADE approved on Thursday a recommendation to expand its investigation into Alphabet's Google over the company's use of journalistic content, examining potential abuse of its dominant market position.

CADE members supported a proposal from interim chief Diogo Thomson de Andrade to send the case back to its general superintendence for formal administrative proceedings, citing changes in Google's practices since the inquiry started in 2019.

The case originated from CADE's 2019 decision to review competitive conditions in search and news markets. The initial investigation examined Google's automated collection of journalistic content and how it appears in search results.

CADE's general superintendence had previously recommended closing the case due to insufficient evidence of violations.

De Andrade's updated analysis noted that Google's conduct has evolved with AI generative features that synthesize information directly in search interfaces. The analysis highlighted potential structural dependency of news publishers on Google's search mechanisms for audience reach.

De Andrade indicated this could represent exploitative abuse by extracting value from third-party content without proportional compensation.

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