In response to a recent lawsuit from News Corp, Perplexity released a statement addressing the accusations of large-scale copyright infringement related to content from Dow Jones and the New York Post. The lawsuit is one of many brought by major media organizations, including Forbes, The New York Times, and Wired, against AI companies accused of misusing copyrighted content.
In its statement, Perplexity claims that many media companies would prefer a world where AI technology didn’t exist, stating that such companies view publicly reported information as proprietary. Perplexity suggests these companies want to enforce “a toll” on any use of publicly available facts, signaling resistance to AI-driven innovation within the media sector. This reflects a notable shift in Perplexity's stance toward the media, as it labels the lawsuit “shortsighted” and “self-defeating.”
Perplexity’s response notably omits any direct reference to the core allegation of the lawsuit, which accuses the company of mass copying publishers' content to attract the same audience. Instead, Perplexity argues that News Corp's approach misrepresents its AI capabilities and overlooks its collaboration with numerous media outlets, including partnerships with Time, Fortune, and Der Spiegel in a revenue-sharing model. Additionally, News Corp itself maintains a partnership with OpenAI, allowing some of its content to be showcased in ChatGPT, which complicates the notion of outright opposition to AI.
The company further challenges News Corp’s claims by asserting it does not reproduce entire articles and that it has previously responded to News Corp’s outreach, countering the lawsuit's assertion that it failed to do so. Perplexity also casts doubt on the validity of the “salacious” examples cited in News Corp’s complaint, suggesting these may not be central to the case as it moves forward.
Though Perplexity’s public response remains largely defensive, it is expected that court filings may offer more concrete details on the ongoing tensions between AI firms and traditional media companies, which continue to grapple with evolving issues around content ownership and AI’s role in information dissemination.
