Reddit Sues Perplexity for Alleged Google Data Theft
▼ Summary
– Reddit sued Perplexity for conspiring with other companies to illegally scrape Reddit content from Google search results, bypassing anti-scraping measures.
– The lawsuit claims Perplexity’s “answer engine” relies on scraping Reddit content from Google results rather than using groundbreaking technology.
– Reddit tested Perplexity by posting unique content only accessible via Google search, which Perplexity reproduced in its answers within hours.
– Perplexity denied wrongdoing, stating it summarizes and cites Reddit discussions like any user and accused Reddit of attacking the open Internet.
– Perplexity alleged Reddit’s lawsuit is a tactic to pressure Google and OpenAI in training data licensing negotiations.
A major legal battle has erupted between Reddit and the AI search platform Perplexity, centering on accusations of systematic data theft. Reddit has filed a lawsuit alleging that Perplexity conspired with other companies to illegally scrape Reddit content directly from Google search results. The complaint asserts that Perplexity deliberately bypassed sophisticated anti-scraping protections, measures that represent a significant financial investment for both Google and Reddit.
Reddit’s legal filing portrays Perplexity’s operations as fundamentally unoriginal, despite its branding as “the world’s first answer engine.” The company contends that the AI service relies on another firm’s large language model to sift through Google search results, using that information to generate answers. According to the lawsuit, Perplexity’s entire business model depends on wrongfully accessing and scraping Reddit content that appears within Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs).
The social media platform used a vivid analogy, comparing the defendants to “bank robbers” caught “red-handed.” To prove its case, Reddit engineers set a digital trap. They planted unique content that was only accessible through Google’s SERPs. Within hours, queries directed at Perplexity’s answer engine reproduced the exact content from that test post. Reddit’s legal team argues this is definitive proof, stating the only possible way Perplexity could have obtained and used the information so quickly was by scraping Google’s search results.
In response to the allegations, Perplexity published a rebuttal on its own platform, firmly denying any illegal activity. The company described its technology as a summarization tool that pulls from public Reddit discussions and properly cites its sources, similar to any individual sharing a link online. Perplexity suggested that Reddit’s true motive is financial, accusing the social media giant of attempting to strong-arm it into paying licensing fees. Furthermore, Perplexity claimed that Reddit is using this lawsuit as a strategic “show of force” to gain leverage in its separate, high-stakes negotiations concerning training data with tech behemoths like Google and OpenAI.
(Source: Ars Technica)
