Germany's media regulator on Tuesday concluded that AI-generated overviews and chatbot answers furnished by Google and Perplexity must comply with national media statutes. The Commission for Licensing and Supervision, known as ZAK and representing the country’s 14 state media authorities, said the outputs are content created by the service providers themselves rather than mere presentations of third-party material.
The regulator's move follows a ruling by a Munich court that found Google potentially liable for mistaken information produced by its AI Overview feature. That court held that summaries created by the AI constitute Google’s own content, rather than a simple aggregation or display of third-party content, a position echoed by the German newspaper publishers’ association BDZV.
ZAK’s chairman, Thorsten Schmiege, set out the regulator’s position succinctly: "AI search engines and chatbots are content providers, and we will consistently apply German media law to them from now on," he said in a statement.
In addition to characterising AI outputs as provider content, the regulator indicated that the liability exemption afforded under the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) does not apply in these instances. The DSA generally provides platforms with a degree of protection from responsibility for illegal user-generated content, but ZAK said that protection is not relevant where services generate and present their own editorial-like summaries and answers.
As part of its reasoning, ZAK highlighted how Google’s AI Overviews are presented prominently within search results, reducing the visibility of conventional lists of links and potentially disadvantaging third-party media outlets. The regulator argued that this prominence alters how news is surfaced and may affect the discoverability of independent media content.
Chatbots such as Perplexity were singled out for the manner in which they select and present sources, links or recommendations alongside AI-produced answers. ZAK warned that when such services influence which news items users see, they can operate as media intermediaries and thus fall under rules intended to protect media plurality.
Both Google and Perplexity have the option to challenge the regulator’s conclusions through legal channels. Perplexity declined to comment on ZAK’s decision but noted that it adheres to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and maintains SOC 2 Type II security and privacy certification.
Summary - The German regulator ZAK has ruled that AI-generated summaries and chatbot responses from Google and Perplexity count as provider-created media content and must follow German media law. This follows a Munich court decision finding Google potentially liable for inaccuracies produced by its AI Overview feature. ZAK also stated the EU’s DSA liability shield does not apply.
Context and implications - ZAK’s determination focuses on how AI features are surfaced to users: prominently displayed AI Overviews can reduce the visibility of traditional link lists, and chatbots that select and recommend sources can shape discoverability of news. As a result, such services may be treated as media intermediaries and subject to rules designed to preserve media plurality.