The New York Times orders Perplexity to stop misusing its content

Occurred: October 2024

The New York Times (NYT) issued a cease and desist notice to the AI "answer engine" Perplexity, demanding that it stop using the publisher's content without authorisation.

What happened

The NYT alleges that Perplexity's practices, which include generating summaries from its articles, violate copyright law. 

The action follows previous assurances from Perplexity that it would cease crawling NYT content, despite continued appearances of NYT content on its platform.

Why it happened

The conflict arises from broader concerns within the publishing industry regarding the use of copyrighted material by AI companies. Since the rise of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, publishers have increasingly voiced their worries about unauthorised content usage. 

The NYT's actions are part of a trend where media companies are asserting their rights against AI firms that use their articles for training models or generating outputs without permission. 

The situation mirrors previous legal battles the NYT has had with other companies, such as OpenAI and Microsoft, over similar issues. 

What it means

The legal confrontation highlights the ongoing tension between traditional media publications and AI companies. 

The outcome could set important precedents regarding copyright and content usage in the age of AI, potentially affecting how generative AI startups operate moving forward. 

If Perplexity fails to comply with the NYT's demands, it may face further legal repercussions, which could impact its business model and relationships with other publishers.

Fair use

Fair use is a doctrine in United States law that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder.

Source: Wikipedia 🔗

System 🤖

Operator: 
Developer: Perplexity AI
Country: USA
Sector: Media/entertainment/sports/arts
Purpose: Generate information
Technology: Chatbot; Machine learning; NLP/text analysis
Issue: Accountability; Cheating/plagiarism; Copyright; Ethics/values; Transparency

Page info
Type: Incident
Published: October 2024