Dow Jones, New York Post take legal action against Perplexity AI

On October 21, 2024, Rupert Murdoch's news organizations, Dow Jones and the New York Post, filed a lawsuit against Perplexity AI in the southern district of New York. The lawsuit accuses the AI startup of engaging in extensive copyright infringement by allegedly copying a significant amount of the publishers’ content to generate AI summaries. This action highlights an ongoing conflict between traditional publishers and technology companies about the unauthorized use of copyrighted material for AI development. The publishers argue that their journalists work under considerable pressure to create high-quality news content, and their business model relies on advertising and subscription revenues. They contend that Perplexity’s AI engine undermines their operations by presenting users with direct answers derived from their proprietary journalism, potentially replacing the need for audiences to access the original articles. Perplexity AI, which utilizes various large language models, defends its approach by offering citations to original sources, although significant criticism arises from their marketing strategy that promotes bypassing traditional links. This approach places the company amidst a crowded market of startups attempting to disrupt the search engine paradigm dominated by big players like Google. This lawsuit is part of a larger trend where numerous media organizations are challenging AI companies over copyright concerns, following similar actions from entities like the New York Times. The situation raises critical questions about the legal boundaries of AI development and content usage, with publishers seeking to protect their intellectual property against what they view as unjust exploitation.