The owner of the Financial Times has launched legal action against artificial intelligence start-up Perplexity AI, accusing the company of large-scale copyright infringement and “free riding” on journalists’ work.
Japanese media group Nikkei, alongside daily newspaper The Asahi Shimbun, has filed a lawsuit claiming that San Francisco-based Perplexity used their articles without permission, including content behind paywalls, since at least June 2024.
In a joint statement, the publishers warned the practice posed a serious threat to the future of journalism.
“This course of Perplexity’s actions amounts to large-scale, ongoing ‘free riding’ on article content that journalists from both companies have spent immense time and effort to research and write, while Perplexity pays no compensation,” they said. “If left unchecked, this situation could undermine the foundation of journalism, which is committed to conveying facts accurately, and ultimately threaten the core of democracy.”
The media groups are seeking an injunction to stop Perplexity from reproducing their content and to force the deletion of any data already used. They are also seeking damages of 2.2 billion yen (£11.1 million) each.
Perplexity, which styles itself as an AI-powered search engine, has attracted more than 30 million users since its launch in 2022 and was valued at $18 billion in a funding round last month. The company is backed by high-profile investors including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and chipmaker Nvidia.
But its rapid rise has triggered mounting tensions with publishers, who warn that AI-generated answers threaten both copyright protections and web traffic to their own platforms.
The BBC has also accused Perplexity of using its content to train AI models, with the broadcaster threatening legal action earlier this year. Perplexity dismissed the claims as “manipulative and opportunistic”.
News Corp, owner of Dow Jones and the New York Post, has separately filed a lawsuit, accusing Perplexity of copying articles without permission to train its AI and generate responses for users. Earlier this month, a New York federal court rejected Perplexity’s attempt to dismiss or transfer that case.
In response to publisher concerns, Perplexity has launched a revenue-sharing programme, which shares advertising revenue when a publisher’s content is referenced by its systems. Media groups including The Independent, Der Spiegel, Time, Fortune and the Los Angeles Times have signed up.
Bloomberg also reported this week that Perplexity is preparing a new scheme linked to its Comet internet browser, which would allow publishers to earn money when their content drives traffic, appears in search queries or is used by Comet’s AI assistant.
Aravind Srinivas, Perplexity’s chief executive, insisted the start-up wanted to work with publishers rather than against them.
“AI is helping to create a better internet, but publishers still need to get paid,” he said. “So we think this is actually the right solution, and we’re happy to make adjustments along the way.”
With lawsuits mounting on both sides of the Atlantic, the outcome of these cases could prove pivotal for how AI companies and news organisations share – and monetise – the future of digital content.
Paul Jones
Harvard alumni and former New York Times journalist. Editor of Business Matters for over 15 years, the UKs largest business magazine. I am also head of Capital Business Media’s automotive division working for clients such as Red Bull Racing, Honda, Aston Martin and Infiniti.