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.
