Photo via Fast Company
CNN has filed suit against Perplexity AI, alleging the company unlawfully copied more than 17,000 news stories, videos, and images without permission to train and support its AI products. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, represents CNN's first legal action against an artificial intelligence company and highlights escalating disputes between major media organizations and AI developers over content usage rights.
According to the complaint, Perplexity not only reproduced CNN's copyrighted material but also allegedly violated the network's trademarks by falsely implying a business relationship with CNN. The companies had briefly negotiated a licensing partnership in October 2025 that would have allowed Perplexity to access CNN's paywalled content in exchange for compensation, but those discussions collapsed the following month. After CNN blocked Perplexity's access to its content and sent a cease-and-desist letter in December 2025, the AI company allegedly continued using CNN's material without authorization.
Perplexity's chief communications officer dismissed the copyright claims, stating simply that "you can't copyright facts." This defense conflicts with CNN's position that high-quality journalism requires significant human effort and expense to produce, and that commercial operators must compensate news organizations for using their original reporting and analysis. CNN is seeking monetary damages and restitution of any profits Perplexity earned from the unauthorized content.
This dispute is part of a broader pattern of legal challenges facing Perplexity. The New York Times, News Corp., the Chicago Tribune, and Britannica have also filed copyright and trademark infringement lawsuits against the AI startup in recent years, suggesting the industry is moving toward establishing clearer legal and financial boundaries around AI training data and content attribution.
