CNN has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Perplexity, accusing the AI startup of unlawfully copying and distributing its content. This marks CNN’s first AI-related legal action and is believed to be the first copyright lawsuit brought against a
generative AI firm by a major television network.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, claims that Perplexity utilized CNN’s journalism, video content, and trademarks without permission. Legal documents reveal the two companies engaged in content licensing negotiations last year but failed to reach an agreement. CNN asserts that Perplexity knowingly continued to scrape and exploit its protected materials despite lacking authorization.
A CNN spokesperson stated that commercial operators must pay to use human-reported journalism, which is expensive and frequently dangerous to produce. In response, Jesse Dwyer, Perplexity’s chief communications officer, defended the startup’s practices, stating simply, “You can’t copyright facts.”
The legal battle highlights a growing divide in how major news organizations handle generative AI platforms that funnel content directly to users. Many publishers are taking a two-track approach, launching copyright suits against non-compliant startups while simultaneously striking multi-million dollar licensing deals with cooperative tech firm. For instance, CNN publicly reported a content partnership with Meta last December.
With this filing, CNN joins a long list of media heavyweights including: The New York Times, News Corp, and the Chicago Tribune, that have taken legal action against Perplexity over the past two years. Conversely, publishers like TIME, Gannett, and Le Monde have opted to sign official distribution agreements with the AI search platform.
