Perplexity AI, a self-proclaimed “answer engine,” is facing a lawsuit from News Corp for alleged “massive scale” copyright infringement. The suit, filed on Monday, accuses Perplexity of directly lifting content from News Corp publications like The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post. This legal challenge isn’t the first time Perplexity’s business practices have drawn fire, and it likely won’t be the last. This emerging technology raises complex questions about copyright, fair use, and the future of online content.
Perplexity SearchPerplexity AI’s search interface.
Redefining Search: The Answer Engine Model
Unlike established AI companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google, Perplexity doesn’t use proprietary AI models. Instead, it leverages open-source and commercially available models to process information scraped from the public web. This approach positions Perplexity as a middleman between content creators and search users. Perplexity trains its AI on copyrighted content and then presents answers, often verbatim according to the lawsuit, to its paying subscribers, without compensating or properly attributing the original publishers.
The Perplexity AI iPhone app answering the questionThe Perplexity AI app providing answers.
Perplexity’s summaries allow users to bypass the traditional links provided by Google Search and access information directly through its chatbot. This difference in approach is at the heart of the conflict. Traditional search engines like Google operate on a symbiotic relationship with content creators, driving traffic to their sites and generating ad revenue for both parties. Perplexity’s model, however, doesn’t drive traffic to independent sites, posing a direct threat to publishers’ revenue models.
A History of Copyright Concerns
Talking with Perplexity chatbot on Nothing Phone 2a.Interacting with the Perplexity chatbot.
Perplexity has faced repeated accusations of copyright infringement throughout 2024. In June, Forbes accused Perplexity of “willful infringement,” claiming the chatbot regurgitated their reporting, even misrepresenting citations. Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas acknowledged the feedback and promised improvements in source attribution. Forbes also alleged that Perplexity lifted an exclusive, paywalled story about former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
In July, Condé Nast issued a cease-and-desist letter to Perplexity, accusing it of lifting content from publications like The New Yorker, Vogue, and Wired. Wired subsequently published its own investigation into Perplexity’s web scraping practices, alleging extensive unauthorized access to their content. The New York Times followed suit in October with its own cease-and-desist letter, demanding Perplexity stop using its content.
The Future of AI and Copyright
News Corp’s lawsuit alleges not only copyright infringement but also factual inaccuracies and fabricated attributions in Perplexity’s responses. The legal battles ahead are likely to be protracted and complex. Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch warned that the slow pace of litigation could lead to the demise of many media companies before legal resolutions are reached. Despite these legal challenges, Perplexity, backed by Jeff Bezos, is reportedly seeking a $9 billion valuation in a new funding round. This highlights the tension between the rapid advancement of AI technology and the existing legal frameworks struggling to keep pace. The outcome of these legal battles will have significant implications for the future of AI, copyright, and the online content landscape.
