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A group of Democratic senators, led by Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), is urging the FTC and Justice Department to investigate the use of AI tools that summarize online content, such as news articles and recipes, for potential anti-competitive practices.
### Concerns Raised by Senators
The senators argue that as traditional journalism outlets face consolidation and layoffs, dominant online platforms like Google and Meta are profiting from advertising revenue generated by content created by others. They believe that new generative AI features could worsen this situation by keeping users on the original platform, where the platform alone benefits from advertising and data collection.
### Impact on Content Creators
Publishers who do not want their content summarized by AI may face a significant drop in referral traffic if they opt out of being indexed for search. This puts content creators at a disadvantage, as they have no control over how their original content is used to generate AI summaries.
### Call for Investigation
The senators are calling on the FTC and DOJ to investigate whether these practices constitute exclusionary conduct or unfair competition in violation of antitrust laws. They believe that a few major companies controlling the market for monetizing original content through advertising are unfairly benefiting from these AI summaries.
### Potential Legislative Action
While the outcome of the investigation remains to be seen, Senator Klobuchar and her colleagues have a history of advocating for legislation to protect journalism and content creators. Their efforts may lead to new laws that address concerns about the impact of AI summaries on the online marketplace.
The letter was co-signed by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Tina Smith (D-MN).
