From Yahoo Finance: 2025-05-22 11:56:00

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether Google violated antitrust laws by its agreement with Character.AI, allowing the tech giant to use the AI startup’s technology. Antitrust enforcers are examining if the agreement was structured to avoid formal government merger scrutiny. Google hired Character.AI co-founders and signed a licensing deal last year, but claims no ownership stake.

The DOJ can scrutinize the deal for anti-competitive behavior, even without a formal review. Other tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon have faced regulatory scrutiny for similar deals in the generative AI race. Google is already facing pressure from regulators to break up its dominance in online search and digital advertising technology.

Google is under scrutiny for its agreements in the AI space, with the DOJ investigating potential antitrust violations. The tech giant’s deal with Character.AI is being examined for potential anti-competitive behavior, while other tech companies like Microsoft and Amazon have faced similar regulatory scrutiny for their AI agreements.



Read more at Yahoo Finance: Google faces DOJ probe over Character.AI deal, Bloomberg Law reports