RSF - Reporters sans frontières
RSF - Reporters sans frontières
05/04/2026 | Press release | Archived content
Unprecedented proceeding against Google opens way to fair compensation for journalism in Brazil
For the first time in Brazil, the competition authority has opened a proceeding against a tech giant to investigate the harm it caused to journalism. It has been launched into Google News and Google's search engine, whose features utilise generative artificial intelligence (AI). Reporters Without Borders (RSF), whose contributions to the authority played a key role in the process, welcomes this decision.
The members of the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE), Brazil's antitrust authority, unanimously concluded that there is evidence of anti-competitive conduct on the part of Google in its use of journalistic content, including services that use generative AI. From displaying snippets (short excerpts) from news articles in search results to generating AI-powered responses using content from the press, Google has increasingly extracted value from journalistic content, reduced traffic to news sites and undermined their ability to sustain themselves through advertising revenue.
During the vote on 23 April to approve the opening of this proceeding against Google, one of the CADE's members also pointed out that the online search giant's conduct could pose a risk of destabilising the news media industry.
The contributions of RSF and other journalism organisations were fundamental in reinforcing the court's assessment that the inclusion of AI in search results transforms potential harm into an imminent risk to journalistic diversity in Brazil, primarily affecting small and medium-sized media outlets.
"The Brazilian antitrust authority recognises the indispensable value of journalism for democracies and indicates that Google's search engine has become the cornerstone of an attention economy that undermines journalism. Google may be ordered to financially compensate news outlets, injecting significant resources to ensure the sustainability of the information ecosystem. Such a decision would mark a turning point in relations between the tech giant and news publishers in Brazil.
Artur Romeu
Director, RSF Latin America
The unavoidable dependence of media on the search engine places news publishers in a situation where Google takes advantage to limit their bargaining power. For example, to remain in the search results, the publishers must agree to have their content used by AI tools, such as the AI Overview, without any compensation
As RSF suggested in its contribution, CADE recognised that the search engine does not function merely as an intermediary but exercises decision-making power, and that it is therefore necessary to conduct a broader analysis of the ecosystemic effects of these practices. They have the potential to exacerbate inequality in the publishing market and lead to the disappearance of small media outlets. Such practices weaken incentives for the production of original and trustworthy content and pose concrete risks to the sustainability of journalism in the future.
Published on 04.05.2026
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