The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has recently issued a legal warning to Perplexity AI, an artificial intelligence startup backed by prominent investors including Nvidia and Jeff Bezos. The BBC alleges that Perplexity's chatbot has been reproducing its content verbatim without authorization, marking the first instance of the broadcaster taking such action against an AI company. (ft.com)
In a letter addressed to Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas, the BBC demanded that the company cease using its content, delete any existing copies, and propose financial compensation for the material already utilized. The letter states, "This constitutes copyright infringement in the UK and breach of the BBC’s terms of use." (ft.com)
The BBC's concerns are not isolated. In February, the broadcaster highlighted that four popular AI chatbots—including Perplexity AI, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Copilot, and Google’s Gemini—were inaccurately summarizing news stories, including BBC content. This misrepresentation has raised alarms about the potential erosion of public trust, especially given the BBC's publicly funded status and its ongoing negotiations regarding its funding charter. (ft.com)
Perplexity AI has dismissed the BBC's claims, stating, "The BBC’s claims are just one more part of the overwhelming evidence that the BBC will do anything to preserve Google’s illegal monopoly." The company did not elaborate on the relevance of Google to the BBC's position. (ft.com)
This legal action is part of a broader trend where news organizations are challenging AI companies over the unauthorized use of their content. In October 2024, News Corp subsidiaries Dow Jones and the New York Post filed a lawsuit against Perplexity, alleging massive copyright infringement. The lawsuit claims that Perplexity's AI-driven search engine has been "engaging in a massive amount of illegal copying" of their work, diverting customers and critical revenues from the publishers. (arstechnica.com)
Similarly, in December 2023, The New York Times became the first major U.S. media organization to sue OpenAI and its primary investor, Microsoft, over alleged misuse of its content. These legal battles underscore the growing tension between traditional media outlets and AI companies regarding intellectual property rights and the use of copyrighted material for training AI models. (the-decoder.com)
The outcome of these legal proceedings could have significant implications for the future of AI development and the protection of intellectual property in the digital age.
Source: Silicon UK https://www.silicon.co.uk/e-regulation/legal/bbc-warns-perplexity-of-legal-action-over-content-use-619044/amp/
