Google is facing criticism from US politicians after announcing that schools using its K-12 software will lose access to Search unless they also switch on its AI tools, TechCrunch reports. A Google education executive told The New York Times that Search and AI are deeply integrated, so students at schools that do not opt in would see a message saying Search is unavailable.
Senator Bernie Sanders called the move extortion, Senator Richard Blumenthal said Google was putting Gemini ahead of students' success, and former FTC chair Lina Khan described it as anti-competitive. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani also objected. Google responded that AI tools are off by default and that schools can enable Gemini, Notebook and Search separately, and said it is developing a guided learning feature for students.
Source: TechCrunch