Reddit Files Lawsuit Alleging Perplexity AI Illegally Harvested Content via Google Search

Legal Action Over Alleged Data Scraping

In a significant legal move, Reddit has filed a lawsuit against artificial intelligence search provider Perplexity, sources indicate. The complaint, submitted on Wednesday, alleges that Perplexity collaborated with several data scraping firms to illegally harvest Reddit content from Google search results. According to reports, this activity allegedly bypassed anti-scraping measures that represent substantial investments for both Google and Reddit.

Reddit’s Allegations of Systematic Content Theft

Reddit’s legal filing portrays Perplexity as benefiting from others’ innovations without making technological breakthroughs of its own. The lawsuit states that Perplexity’s “answer engine simply uses a different company’s” large language model to analyze Google search results for answering user queries. Analysts suggest this case could set important precedents for how AI companies access and use online content.

According to the complaint, Reddit conducted tests using what it described as “the digital equivalent of marked bills” – posting content exclusively accessible through Google search engine results pages. Within hours, the report states, Perplexity’s system was producing this test content, demonstrating what Reddit claims was clear evidence of improper data acquisition.

Anti-Scraping Technologies and Alleged Circumvention

Reddit employs multiple protective measures against unauthorized data collection, including registered user-identification limits, IP-rate limits, captcha bot protection, and anomaly-detection tools, the complaint details. Similarly, Google reportedly utilizes a system called “SearchGuard” designed to prevent automated access to search results while permitting legitimate human users.

The lawsuit alleges that bypassing these protective systems violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act alongside laws governing unfair trade practices and unjust enrichment. Sources indicate that the defendants supposedly shifted to extracting Reddit content from Google search results after encountering difficulties accessing Reddit directly., according to technology trends

Companies Named in Alleged Conspiracy

Reddit’s legal action identifies three companies as co-conspirators with Perplexity: Oxylabs UAB, described as a Lithuanian data scraper; AWMProxy, characterized as a former Russian botnet; and SerpApi, a Texas-based company offering search engine scraping services. According to the report, these entities allegedly employed techniques to disguise automated scrapers as regular human users.

During a two-week period in July, the companies reportedly scraped nearly three billion search results pages containing Reddit content, including text, URLs, images, and videos, according to information obtained through a subpoena to Google.

Defendant Responses and Counterarguments

Perplexity has publicly denied any wrongdoing, posting its response on Reddit itself. The company describes its service as summarizing Reddit discussions and properly citing threads, similar to how any user might share links. Perplexity suggests Reddit’s true motivation involves using the lawsuit as leverage in data licensing negotiations with larger technology companies like Google and OpenAI.

Oxylabs expressed surprise at the allegations, with chief governance strategy officer Denas Grybauskas stating the company was “shocked and disappointed” by the lawsuit. Grybauskas defended Oxylabs’ business as creating “real-world value for thousands of businesses and researchers” while maintaining that “no company should claim ownership of public data that does not belong to them.”

SerpApi’s spokesperson told reporters the company “strongly disagrees with Reddit’s allegations and intends to vigorously defend itself in court,” noting that Reddit had not contacted them before filing the lawsuit.

Broader Implications for Content Licensing

Reddit claims its business and reputation have suffered damage from what it characterizes as data misappropriation and circumvention of technological controls. The company asserts that without proper licensing agreements, it cannot control data access, usage, or compliance with its privacy policies and user agreements.

According to the report, Reddit is concerned that Perplexity’s alleged workaround could become more widespread, potentially undermining Reddit’s other content licensing arrangements. The company notes it must continue investing significant resources in anti-scraping technology while suffering what it describes as lost profits, reputational harm, and diminished user trust.

Reddit seeks court intervention to prevent further scraping of its content from Google search results and to block companies from selling Reddit data or developing tools to circumvent protective measures. If successful, the lawsuit could require defendants to pay substantial damages or disgorge profits obtained from Reddit content.

This legal confrontation occurs amid ongoing industry debates about fair use of publicly available online content for AI training and development, with outcomes potentially influencing how AI companies access and utilize internet-sourced information.

References

• https://cdn.arstechnica.net/…/Reddit-v-Perplexity-Complaint-10-22-25.pdf
• https://www.reddit.com/…/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perplexity
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_scraping
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Question_answering
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_neutrality

This article aggregates information from publicly available sources. All trademarks and copyrights belong to their respective owners.

Note: Featured image is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent any specific product, service, or entity mentioned in this article.