New York Times Demands Perplexity Halt Use of Its Journalism in AI Summaries
The New York Times sends a cease and desist letter to Perplexity, accusing the AI startup of copyright infringement for using its content without a license. This legal move adds to the publisher's ongoing battles against generative AI companies.
The New York Times sends a cease and desist letter to Perplexity, demanding the AI startup stop accessing and using its journalism for AI summaries. The letter argues that Perplexity violates copyright laws by using the publisher's carefully researched content without a license, resulting in unjust enrichment for the Jeff Bezos-backed company.
This legal action highlights a growing clash between traditional publishers and generative AI firms over the use of copyrighted material. The Times already sues OpenAI over similar allegations, and a recent Copyleaks study shows that Perplexity successfully summarizes paywalled content from various publishers, raising further ethical and legal concerns about web scraping practices.
Despite the escalating tension, Perplexity expresses a willingness to cooperate rather than fight. The startup recently launches an ad-revenue share program to compensate publishers, and CEO Aravind Srinivas states that the company has no interest in being an antagonist and wants to work with the New York Times to find a mutually beneficial resolution.