NYC mayor accuses Google of restricting school access to Search over AI settings
Mayor Zohran Mamdani says Google will block Search for schools that disable its AI features, calling the policy an abuse of market power.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Google will deny schools access to its search engine if they turn off the company’s AI tools. He posted on social media that the tech giant is using its market position to force artificial-intelligence features into public classrooms and warned that “no corporation should have the power to dictate how we teach our children.”
Google announced that AI capabilities in its education software will be disabled by default, requiring administrators to opt in. The company also indicated that schools opting to block all AI functions would lose access to Google Search, citing the technical integration of search and AI. In a statement to the New York Times, Google’s vice president for education, Chris Phillips, said, “Search and AI are deeply integrated.”
Critics argue that the integration makes it difficult for schools to separate the services, effectively pressuring them to keep AI features active. The mayor has previously imposed a one-year moratorium on AI use in New York City schools, describing it as the most comprehensive policy of its kind in the United States.
Legal experts note that a 2024 federal ruling found Google held an illegal monopoly in the search market, raising concerns that the company could be leveraging similar dominance in the education sector.