CNN Sues AI Startup Perplexity Over Alleged Copyright Infringement of Thousands of Articles

CNN has filed a lawsuit against AI startup Perplexity, accusing it of copyright and trademark infringement by scraping and reproducing over 17,000 of the network's stories, videos, and images without permission. The Verge reported that the lawsuit, filed in New York, alleges Perplexity's AI tools generate "verbatim" copies of CNN articles and bypass paywalls to provide users with subscription-locked content. Variety noted that this marks CNN's first legal action against an AI company over copyright protection and is believed to be the first such litigation by a TV network.

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The VergeCNN sues AI startup Perplexity for allegedly scraping and reproducing articles verbatimVarietyCNN Sues AI Company Perplexity for Copyright Infringement Over Content Scraping

"The lawsuit states that the two sides attempted but failed to reach an agreement in 2025, and Perplexity continued using CNN content without authorization while falsely implying a relationship with the news network."

Deadline reported that the failed negotiations highlight the deepening rift between traditional media and AI firms, as CNN joins other major publishers like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal in taking legal action against the Jeff Bezos-backed generative AI company.

DeadlineCNN Sues AI Firm Perplexity Alleging Unauthorized Use of Over 10,000 Copyrighted Works

Perplexity has responded by arguing that facts cannot be copyrighted, framing the case around the legal distinction between copyrightable expression and non-copyrightable facts, according to CNET. TheWrap added that the lawsuit claims Perplexity knowingly used CNN's content despite prior licensing discussions that went nowhere, and that the AI company misled users into thinking there was a working relationship between the two entities.

SiliconAngle reported that CNN claims Perplexity uses artificial intelligence to rewrite its reporting, which undermines the network's economic model. This lawsuit is part of a broader wave of over 100 copyright lawsuits filed against AI companies as of early 2026, according to CNET, highlighting the growing legal tensions between traditional media publishers and AI companies that use their content for training and output.