7:59 am - June 25, 2025
The BBC has issued a legal threat to AI startup Perplexity, accusing it of using BBC content without permission to train and power its artificial intelligence tools. The move, first reported by the Financial Times, marks the broadcaster’s first action in defence of its intellectual property against generative AI firms.
In a letter to Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas, the BBC demanded the company stop scraping its content, delete any material already collected and proposed a financial settlement. It claims Perplexity’s tools have reproduced BBC content verbatim and serve as direct competitors by diverting users away from its platforms. The broadcaster warned that such practices could undermine public trust, which is particularly significant given its publicly funded status and ongoing funding negotiations with the UK government.
The move places the BBC alongside other major publishers confronting unauthorised use of their material by AI companies. Last year, Dow Jones, owner of The Wall Street Journal, filed a lawsuit against Perplexity for extensive copying of its content. News Corp CEO Robert Thomson has called Perplexity’s approach an “egregious” violation of intellectual property rights, contrasting it with the licensing deals struck by firms like OpenAI. Forbes and other publishers have also raised similar legal objections.
Perplexity, recently valued at around $14 billion and with a reported user base of 30 million, has pushed back strongly against the BBC’s claims. The company accused the broadcaster of being “manipulative and opportunistic” and said it misunderstood both the technology involved and the relevant copyright law. While Perplexity does not train its own large language models – unlike OpenAI, Google or Meta – it does allow users to query those models via its own interface. The BBC argues that its content is still being exploited without consent, threatening the value of its journalism.
The case feeds into wider concerns within the UK’s creative industries over how AI firms use copyrighted material. The UK government has floated the idea of allowing content scraping unless publishers explicitly opt out – a proposal critics say would harm a sector estimated to be worth £125 billion. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has promised that any legislation would ensure fair compensation for creators.
Source: Noah Wire Services
- https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/jun/20/bbc-threatens-legal-action-against-ai-startup-over-content-scraping – Please view link – unable to able to access data
- https://www.ft.com/content/b743d401-dc5d-44b8-9987-825a4ffcf4ca – The BBC is threatening legal action against AI search engine Perplexity, alleging the start-up scraped and used its copyrighted content to train AI without permission. In a letter to Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas, the British broadcaster demands the cessation of scraping, deletion of any retained BBC content, and a compensation proposal. This marks the BBC’s first move against AI firms over content misuse, amid rising concerns about intellectual property violations. The BBC claims content has been reproduced verbatim and harms its reputation, citing research showing factual inaccuracies in 17% of Perplexity’s AI-generated responses involving BBC material. It warns this undermines public trust, especially as the corporation is publicly funded and currently renegotiating its funding charter. Perplexity, currently finalizing a $14 billion funding round, rejects the accusations, stating it does not train foundational models and accusing the BBC of unjustly supporting Google’s monopoly. The company, with 30 million users and revenue from subscriptions, has previously received similar legal notices from other major media outlets. It has signed revenue-sharing agreements with publishers like Time and Der Spiegel, but remains in legal disputes with others including News Corp subsidiaries. The BBC has recently begun registering its content with the U.S. Copyright Office to strengthen its legal position.
- https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/bbc-threatens-legal-action-against-ai-start-up-perplexity-over-content-scraping-2025-06-20/ – UK broadcaster BBC is threatening legal action against AI search engine Perplexity, accusing the startup of training its “default AI model” using BBC content, the Financial Times reported on Friday. In a letter to Perplexity Chief Executive Aravind Srinivas seen by the FT, BBC said it may seek an injunction unless the AI … “a proposal for financial compensation” for the alleged misuse of its … . Perplexity called BBC’s claims “manipulative and opportunistic” in a statement to the FT … “a fundamental misunderstanding of technology, … .” Perplexity and BBC did not … . Since ChatGPT’s introduction, publishers have raised alarms about chat … . Perplexity has faced accusations from … . In October, the New York Times … “cease and desist” notice demanding the company stop using … .
- https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/oct/25/unjust-threat-murdoch-and-artists-align-in-fight-over-ai-content-scraping – By the end of the week that number had almost doubled to 25,000. It came a day after Murdoch, owner of the publishing group News Corp, whose newspapers include the Wall Street Journal, the Sun, the Times and the Australian, launched a legal action against the AI-powered search engine Perplexity, accusing it of “illegally copying” some of his US titles’ journalism. The stars’ statement is a concerted effort to challenge the idea that creative works can be used as training data without recompense on the grounds of “fair use” – a US legal term meaning permission from the copyright owner is not needed. Adding to their anger is the fact these AI models can then be used to produce fresh works that compete with those of human beings. Rupert Murdoch has launched a legal action against the AI-powered search engine Perplexity. Photograph: Noah Berger/AP
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perplexity_AI – Perplexity AI, or simply Perplexity, is a web search engine that uses a large language model to process queries and synthesise responses based on web search results. With a conversational approach, Perplexity allows users to ask follow-up questions and receive answers with citations of their sources from the internet. Perplexity AI, Inc. was founded as a privately held company in 2022 by Aravind Srinivas, Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski. It launched its flagship search engine on December 7, 2022, and has since released a Google Chrome extension and an app for iOS and Android. As of June 2025, the company was valued at US$14 billion. It currently has around 700 employees, and is headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States. A free and public version is available, but the paid Pro subscription allows users to choose from a variety of more advanced models, among other features.
- https://timesofinnovation.com/news/news-corp-initiates-legal-action-against-perplexity-over-copyright-infringement/ – News Corp’s CEO, Robert Thomson, expressed profound concern regarding the impact of Perplexity’s methods on the media landscape, condemning the startup’s practices as abuses of intellectual property rights. In contrast, he acknowledged companies like OpenAI, which have successfully negotiated content usage agreements with media outlets. As this legal confrontation unfolds, it accentuates a crucial dialogue about the ethical considerations of AI content usage. Media companies are increasingly vigilant about the relationship between their creations and the rapid technological advancements in artificial intelligence. Perplexity has yet to provide an official statement regarding the lawsuit. Notably, the company has signalled a strategic shift by initiating payments to select publishers, including Time and Fortune, for utilising their content, which reflects an awareness of the legal landscape it operates in. This lawsuit marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing discourse regarding copyright and the rights of content creators in the face of burgeoning technology.
- https://www.axios.com/2024/06/18/forbes-perplexity-ai-legal-action-copyright – Forbes sent a letter to the CEO of AI search startup Perplexity accusing the company of stealing text and images in a “willful infringement” of Forbes’ copyright rights, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Axios. Why it matters: Publishers fighting to protect their intellectual property are stuck in a game of whack-a-mole as they confront not just the biggest AI companies, like OpenAI or Google, but also smaller AI startups. Catch up quick: Forbes general counsel MariaRosa Cartolano sent the letter days after Forbes chief content officer Randall Lane accused Perplexity AI’s chatbot of ripping off Forbes’ reporting without attribution. The chatbot tried to give credibility to the Forbes story it presented by citing other “sourced” reports that were actually just aggregated stories of Forbes’ original report. Perplexity then sent a push notification to its subscribers of its version of the story and published an AI-generated podcast, which was then turned into a YouTube video, about the story.
Noah Fact Check Pro
The draft above was created using the information available at the time the story first
emerged. We’ve since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed
below. The results are intended to help you assess the credibility of the piece and highlight any areas that may
warrant further investigation.
Freshness check
Score:
10
Notes:
The narrative was first reported by The Guardian on June 20, 2025, and has been corroborated by other reputable outlets, including the Financial Times and Reuters, within the same timeframe. ([ft.com](https://www.ft.com/content/b743d401-dc5d-44b8-9987-825a4ffcf4ca?utm_source=openai), [reuters.com](https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/bbc-threatens-legal-action-against-ai-start-up-perplexity-over-content-scraping-2025-06-20/?utm_source=openai))
Quotes check
Score:
10
Notes:
The direct quotes from Perplexity AI’s CEO, Aravind Srinivas, and BBC representatives are consistent across multiple reputable sources, indicating originality and no signs of reused content. ([ft.com](https://www.ft.com/content/b743d401-dc5d-44b8-9987-825a4ffcf4ca?utm_source=openai), [reuters.com](https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/bbc-threatens-legal-action-against-ai-start-up-perplexity-over-content-scraping-2025-06-20/?utm_source=openai))
Source reliability
Score:
10
Notes:
The narrative originates from The Guardian, a reputable UK-based news organisation, and is corroborated by other established outlets such as the Financial Times and Reuters, lending credibility to the information presented. ([ft.com](https://www.ft.com/content/b743d401-dc5d-44b8-9987-825a4ffcf4ca?utm_source=openai), [reuters.com](https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/bbc-threatens-legal-action-against-ai-start-up-perplexity-over-content-scraping-2025-06-20/?utm_source=openai))
Plausability check
Score:
10
Notes:
The claims of the BBC threatening legal action against Perplexity AI over content scraping are plausible and align with previous actions taken by other media organisations against AI firms for similar issues. ([arstechnica.com](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/10/dow-jones-says-perplexity-is-freeriding-sues-over-copyright-infringement/?utm_source=openai), [us.cnn.com](https://us.cnn.com/2024/10/21/media/rupert-murdoch-dow-jones-perplexity-lawsuit/index.html?utm_source=openai))
Overall assessment
Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): PASS
Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): HIGH
Summary:
The narrative is fresh, original, and corroborated by multiple reputable sources, with no signs of disinformation or recycled content. The claims are plausible and consistent with previous industry actions, and the sources are reliable, supporting a high confidence in the accuracy of the information presented.
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