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EU court adviser: AI chatbots may break press rights when they reuse news articles

A non-binding opinion says a chatbot that copies a publisher's article into its answers could, in some cases, break EU rules.

By Gustavo Toledo Salles · Europe.AI.News · 4 Nov 2026

On 3 November, Advocate General Maciej Szpunar gave his opinion in a case between Hungarian publisher Like Company and Google, about Google's Gemini chatbot. He said a chatbot that reuses press articles to answer users can, in certain circumstances, infringe the rights of press publishers.

He said it matters whether the content was obtained unlawfully, for example by getting round technical blocks on a website, and how much of it was copied. A chatbot's maker can also be responsible if it has not taken suitable steps to stop such uses.

On training AI with articles, he suggested the Court treat those questions as inadmissible, and took the view that using protected works is in general allowed without permission. Google welcomed that part of the opinion.

An opinion is not binding. The EU's Court of Justice will now decide the case, and its judges often, though not always, follow their advisers.

Sources: Agence Europe, CJEU Advocate General says chatbots can infringe press publishers' rights · Business Standard, Google Gemini may infringe publishers' rights, EU court adviser says

Written in our own words from the sources above. Illustration by Europe.AI.News. Spotted a mistake? Email [email protected] and we'll correct it.

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