TLDR:
- New York Times sent a cease and desist notice to AI startup Perplexity
- NYT demands Perplexity stop using its content for AI purposes
- Perplexity claims it’s not scraping data but indexing web pages
- NYT is also in a legal battle with OpenAI over content use
- Several publishers have accused AI companies of unauthorized content use
The New York Times has sent a cease and desist notice to Perplexity demanding the company stop using its content for generative AI purposes. This move marks the latest clash between news publishers and artificial intelligence firms over the use of copyrighted material.
Perplexity, a two-year-old startup backed by Jeff Bezos, aims to challenge Google’s dominance in the search engine market. The company’s AI-powered search tool provides users with generated summaries and featured sources when they input questions or keywords. However, this approach has raised concerns among publishers about the unauthorized use of their content.
In its letter to Perplexity, dated October 2, 2024, the New York Times argued that the startup’s use of its content, including the creation of summaries, violates copyright law. The publisher demanded that Perplexity “immediately cease and desist all current and future unauthorized access and use of The Times’s content.”
The Times also requested information on how Perplexity is accessing its website despite prevention efforts. According to the letter, Perplexity had previously assured publishers it would stop using “crawling” technology to gather information. However, the New York Times claims its content still appears in Perplexity’s search results.
In response to these allegations, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas stated,
“We are not scraping data for building foundation models, but rather indexing web pages and surfacing factual content as citations to inform responses when a user asks a question.”
Srinivas expressed the company’s willingness to work with publishers, including the New York Times, and said they have no interest in being “anyone’s antagonist.”
This confrontation is not an isolated incident in the AI industry. The New York Times is also engaged in a legal battle with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, over the alleged use of millions of newspaper articles without permission to train its AI chatbot.
Other publishers, such as Forbes and Condé Nast, have accused Perplexity of using their material without authorization.
While there are potential applications for AI in data analysis and content creation, publishers are concerned about the misuse or theft of their content, which could harm their advertising and subscription-based business models.
Some media companies have opted to sign licensing deals with AI firms. For example, News Corp, IAC, and Axel Springer have entered into agreements with OpenAI, receiving compensation for the use of their content.
Perplexity has also completed deals with individual publishers and plans to introduce ads later this month, offering to share up to 25% of ad revenue with publishing partners whose content it uses.
