German regulator rules Google and Perplexity AI summaries are media
Germany's media regulator just decided that AI-generated summaries from Google and Perplexity are officially "media" and have to play by the same rules as news outlets.
Separately, a Munich court also held Google responsible for mistakes in its AI summaries, saying those errors are basically Google's own.
ZAK warns AI summaries harm media
ZAK, the regulator, is worried that tools like Google's AI Overviews make traditional search results harder to find, putting independent media at a disadvantage.
Perplexity also got called out for only showing certain sources and links, which could limit what people discover online.
Both companies might soon be treated as "media intermediaries," meaning they'd face stricter rules to protect media diversity.
Perplexity says it follows EU privacy laws; Google hasn't commented yet, but both can appeal the decision.