Google is a ‘bad actor’ says People CEO, accusing the company of stealing content

Neil Vogel, the CEO of People, Inc., has publicly criticized Google, labeling the tech giant as a "bad actor" for allegedly misusing content from his company's websites to enhance its AI products. This accusation was made during his appearance at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference, where he highlighted the unethical practices of Google in utilizing the same web crawler for both search indexing and AI features. According to Vogel, the reliance on a single crawler means that Google is effectively siphoning off content to bolster its AI initiatives while still sending traffic to People, Inc.'s sites. He revealed that the share of traffic from Google Search has significantly dropped from approximately 65% three years ago to the "high 20s" today. In an earlier discussion with AdExchanger, Vogel noted that Google once accounted for as much as 90% of the traffic from the open web to People Inc. Despite the decline in traffic, Vogel assured conference participants that the company has successfully expanded its audience and revenue. However, he firmly stated, "What is not right about this is: you cannot take our content to compete with us." He emphasized the need for publishers to gain more leverage in the emerging AI landscape, advocating for measures to block AI crawlers that do not engage in proper content agreements. People, Inc. has partnered with OpenAI, which Vogel described as a "good actor," and is utilizing Cloudflare's latest technology to prevent unauthorized AI crawlers from accessing its content. While several large language model providers have shown interest in potential agreements, Vogel noted that no formal deals have been finalized yet. He expressed frustration that blocking Google's crawler is not a viable option, as it would also hinder the indexing of their websites, further impacting the remaining traffic they receive from Google. Janice Min, CEO of Ankler Media, echoed Vogel's sentiments, branding major tech companies like Google and Meta as longstanding "content kleptomaniacs." She expressed skepticism about the benefits of collaborating with any AI firms at this time. Cloudflare's CEO, Matthew Prince, who also participated in the panel discussion, suggested that future regulatory changes might reshape AI company behaviors. He raised concerns about the effectiveness of legal battles concerning copyright law, which was originally designed for a pre-AI context, stating that AI developments are creating derivatives that complicate traditional copyright considerations. Prince further criticized Google for fostering a culture where publishers prioritize traffic over original content, a shift that has led to clickbait strategies among outlets like BuzzFeed. Looking ahead, he predicted that Google may soon have to compensate content creators for using their material in AI models, as internal discussions at Google continue regarding their competitive strategy.