CNN Sues Perplexity Over Verbatim AI Copying
SkimNews Take
The lawsuit highlights a tension between AI models that learn from vast datasets and the need for content creators to monetize their work, potentially forcing a re-evaluation of fair use in the age of generative AI.
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- CNN filed a lawsuit against Perplexity in a New York court on Thursday, alleging the AI startup's tools generate "verbatim" copies of CNN articles and deliver content locked behind its paywall.
- Perplexity is accused of ignoring CNN's efforts to "recognize or block" its unidentified crawlers, with one example showing its AI search tool reproduced "substantial" verbatim portions of a CNN article when prompted with just the title.
- A proposed Comet Plus content-licensing deal between CNN and Perplexity from October 2025 collapsed over "limits on Perplexity's use of CNN content in its answers to users"; CNN scrapped it in November and sent a cease-and-desist letter that Perplexity allegedly didn't respond to.
- Perplexity now faces copyright suits from The New York Times, Encyclopedia Britannica, Merriam-Webster, News Corp, Amazon, and Reddit, with CNN seeking damages and a permanent block on the alleged conduct.
- Perplexity spokesperson Jesse Dwyer pushed back on the lawsuit, saying: "You can't copyright facts."
Why it matters: CNN joins NYT, News Corp, Amazon, and Reddit in suing Perplexity, deepening the publisher-AI copyright war. The lawsuit reveals CNN first tried a Comet Plus licensing deal that collapsed over usage limits in November — a sign media companies are exhausting commercial options before turning to courts, and that Perplexity's 'facts aren't copyrightable' defense will now be tested against allegations of verbatim expressive copying.
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