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Antitrust case · United States (federal)

Penske Media's antitrust challenge to Google's reuse of publisher content for AI search

Penske Media v. Google

Penske Media sued Google in 2025, objecting to content supplied for ordinary search also being used for AI answers without a separate opt-out and alleging unpaid reuse, traffic diversion and revenue harm. US District Judge Amit Mehta dismissed the lawsuit on September 30, 2026. The opinion describes the accompanying order as final and appealable, but the article does not establish that Penske Media has appealed.

  • Dismissed
  • Filed
  • Last ruling

Updated

Parties and court

Plaintiff
Penske Media
Defendant
Google
Jurisdiction
United States (federal)

What’s at stake

  • Use of content supplied for ordinary search in AI answers without a separate opt-out.
  • Alleged unpaid reuse of publishers’ material.
  • Alleged loss of website traffic and revenue.
  • Alleged risk of exclusion from search if content was withheld.
  • The dismissal does not resolve separate questions about copyright permission or compensation.

Timeline

  1. Judge Amit Mehta granted Google’s motion to dismiss Penske Media’s antitrust lawsuit, rejecting the proposition that publishers’ expectation of search traffic established an agreement.

Our reporting

Judge Dismisses Chegg and Penske Antitrust Lawsuits Over Google’s AI Search →The Signal · October 2, 2026

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