Brazil regulator approves deeper probe into Google's news content use

Brazil's antitrust watchdog CADE ​approved on Thursday ​a recommendation to deepen investigations ​into the use of journalistic content by Alphabet's Google, which would assess potential abuse of the company's ‌dominant market ⁠position.

CADE's ⁠members backed a proposal from its interim chief ​Diogo Thomson de Andrade to return the case to ​its general superintendence for formal administrative proceedings, citing the evolution of Google's conduct since ​the 2019 inquiry began.

The ⁠case began ‌following CADE's 2019 determination to ​examine ​competitive conditions in search and news ⁠markets.


Initial investigation focused on Google's ​automated collection of journalistic content and ​its display in search results.

CADE's general superintendence had previously recommended shelving the case for lack of sufficient evidence of violations.

De Andrade's new analysis noted ‌Google's conduct evolved with AI generative features that synthesize information directly in ​search interfaces.

​It highlighted ⁠potential structural dependency of news publishers on Google's search mechanisms for audience reach.

De Andrade pointed ​out this could constitute exploitative abuse through extracting value from third-party content without proportional compensation.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.