The BBC, a prominent UK broadcaster, is considering legal action against the AI search engine Perplexity. The Financial Times reported on Friday that the broadcaster has accused the startup of utilizing its content to train its “default AI model.”
In a letter to Perplexity’s Chief Executive, Aravind Srinivas, which was reviewed by the Financial Times, the BBC warned of potential legal measures unless the company ceases its content scraping, removes any cached materials used for training its AI systems, and presents “a proposal for financial compensation” regarding the alleged infringement of its intellectual property.
Perplexity has responded to the accusations by labeling them as “manipulative and opportunistic.” In its statement to the Financial Times, the company expressed that the BBC demonstrates “a fundamental misunderstanding of technology, the internet, and intellectual property law.”
Both Perplexity and the BBC have yet to respond to a request for comment from Reuters, which has not been able to independently verify the claims.
Following the launch of ChatGPT, various publishers have expressed concerns about chatbots that scour the web for information to provide summaries and insights to users.
Perplexity has previously faced similar allegations from media outlets like Forbes and Wired for allegedly plagiarizing their content. In response, the company has introduced a revenue-sharing initiative aimed at addressing these publishers’ concerns.
In October, the New York Times issued a “cease and desist” notice to Perplexity, demanding the termination of the use of its content for generative AI applications.
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