Reddit accuses Perplexity AI of data theft

Reddit's NYC office hallway. Source: Reddit.

Reddit’s lawsuit in a New York federal court takes aim at San Francisco-based Perplexity, maker of an AI chatbot and “answer engine” that competes with Google, ChatGPT and others in online search.

Other parties named in the lawsuit include Lithuanian data-scraping firm Oxylabs UAB, a web domain called AWMProxy—described by Reddit as a “former Russian botnet”—and Texas-based startup SerpApi, which lists Perplexity as one of its clients.

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"Our approach remains principled and responsible as we provide factual answers with accurate AI, and we will not tolerate threats against openness and the public interest," Perplexity said in a statement.

Reddit's chief legal officer Ben Lee said: “AI companies are locked in an arms race for quality human content — and that pressure has fuelled an industrial-scale ‘data laundering’ economy."