CNN Sues Perplexity Over Copyright Infringement
has sued AI search engine Perplexity in New York federal court for alleged unlawful distribution of its copyrighted content.
Jason Kwon ·
A prominent U.S. news channel initiated legal proceedings against AI search engine provider Perplexity on Thursday, May 28, 2026, filing a lawsuit in a New York federal court. The complaint alleges that Perplexity unlawfully distributed the news channel's copyrighted content, marking the latest in a series of legal challenges brought by news publishers against AI companies over content usage.
The lawsuit claims that Perplexity illegally copied thousands of stories, videos, and images to develop its products, subsequently disseminating content that is either identical or substantially similar to the original works. The news channel is seeking unspecified monetary damages and a court order to prevent Perplexity from further infringing upon its intellectual property rights.
Allegations of Undermining Newsgathering
Perplexity, which holds a valuation in the tens of billions of dollars, is accused of exploiting original reporting, thereby undermining the economic incentives crucial for newsgathering. This legal action is part of a broader trend of high-stakes U.S. cases filed by copyright owners, including various news organizations, authors, and publishers, against technology companies.
Broader Legal Landscape for AI
These cases frequently allege the misuse of copyrighted material to train large language models. Perplexity is currently facing similar lawsuits from other entities. In a related development, the AI company Anthropic reached a settlement last year in a class-action lawsuit with authors for $1.5 billion, highlighting the growing legal scrutiny on AI firms regarding content use.