Reddit has filed a lawsuit against Perplexity AI and several data partners, accusing them of illegally scraping its platform to train AI systems.
Key ideas:
- Unauthorized data use – The suit alleges Perplexity and proxy firms copied Reddit content at scale, breaching the platform’s terms and potentially violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
- AI training backlash – Reddit claims its data was mined to power Perplexity’s chatbot and other AI products, even after licensing deals were made with OpenAI and Google.
- Industry fault lines – The case highlights the growing battle over who owns the internet’s data — creators, platforms, or AI developers.
- Legal test case – Analysts say this could shape how AI companies source and label training data, setting a precedent for “ethical data” in AI development.
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As AI races ahead, the question isn’t just who builds the smartest model, but who owns the knowledge it’s built on.
