French regulator fines Google $271M over generative AI copyright issue

However, Google has failed to maintain those commitments in several ways, the authority said. First, it has not been sufficiently forthcoming in its information sharing with its representatives, failing to provide information necessary for the monitoring of the agreement in a timely way. Second, the company has failed to provide full details about how it makes money from news content, which also violates its 2022 commitments.

Finally, the authority accused Google of using news content to train its Bard AI service (now called Gemini), without the permission of the publishers, and without providing access to an opt-out tool that would have let them contest the AI usage.

“The Autorité considers the fact that Google did not inform editors and press agencies of the use of their content by its service Bard to be a breach of its obligation of transparency,” the authority’s statement said.