Media mogul Rupert Murdoch's Dow Jones and the New York Post have filed a lawsuit against artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI, alleging that the company engages in widespread illegal copying of copyrighted content. The lawsuit, submitted in the Southern District of New York, claims that Perplexity has devised a "brazen scheme" to compete for readers while exploiting the valuable journalism produced by these publishers. The ongoing legal battle highlights the growing tension between traditional media outlets and tech companies regarding the unauthorized use of copyrighted materials to develop AI systems, with many publishers asserting that they are losing revenue and control over their content.
The suit accuses Perplexity of using vast amounts of the publishers' news articles to create an internal database, from which it generates user responses through a technique known as retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). News Corp, which owns the plaintiffs, argues that Perplexity's practices not only infringe upon copyright laws but also harm the journalistic industry by undermining the value of original reporting. The lawsuit seeks to prevent Perplexity from utilizing the publishers’ content in its AI-generated responses and demands the destruction of any related databases. This case joins a growing list of legal actions by publishers against AI companies, as they navigate the complexities of digital content use in an evolving media landscape.
