By Mathures Paul
Publication Date: 2026-05-28 17:37:00
CNN has filed a lawsuit against Perplexity in New York federal court, claiming the AI search engine provider is unlawfully copying and distributing its copyrighted content.
The complaint states that Perplexity unlawfully copied thousands of CNN stories, videos and images to power its products and distributes “identical or substantially similar” competing content, according to Reuters.
“Human beings report, research, write, edit, and create the content that Perplexity takes without permission or compensation,” the lawsuit claims.
In one example, CNN accuses Perplexity’s AI search tool of producing “substantial” portions of the following article: ‘What’s Next for Minneapolis? A Shaky Promise, Mounting Tensions and the Fight for Control.’ Another article cited in court documents is: ‘As a Parade of US Allies Rattled by Trump Visit China, Beijing Claims a Win for Its New World Order.’
“CNN’s lawsuit stands for the proposition that Perplexity, a company valued at tens of billions of dollars, should not be able to steal from entities that create the original content Perplexity exploits,” a CNN spokesperson said in a statement. “The public relies on high-quality news journalism reported by human beings to understand their world, which is frequently dangerous and expensive to produce. Commercial operators can and must pay to make use of it.”
“You can’t copyright facts,” Perplexity’s chief communications officer Jesse Dwyer said in a statement to CNN.
CNN is seeking an unspecified…
