The New York Times has taken legal action against Microsoft and OpenAI, accusing them of scraping its copyrighted content to gain a competitive edge. The newspaper alleges that the defendants used its news articles, op-eds, investigations, reviews, and other materials to build their large-language models (LLMs). The suit claims that Microsoft and OpenAI specifically targeted The New York Times due to its extensive newsgathering abilities and digital prowess. The Times argues that by utilizing its content without permission or compensation, the defendants are attempting to exploit its journalism to develop substitutive products. The lawsuit contends that the defendants’ GenAI tools can generate text that closely resembles the Times’ content and even spreads false information attributed to the publication. The New York Times stressed the significance of independent journalism and warned that the failure to protect it could lead to an irreplaceable void. The paper is seeking an injunction to cease the alleged practices, as well as statutory damages, compensatory damages, and restitution. The News/Media Alliance commended The New York Times for its legal action, emphasizing that quality journalism deserves compensation and unauthorized use of copyrighted content is unlawful. The Alliance called for responsible innovation and reporting in the field of AI. The lawsuit raises fundamental questions about copyright protection and collaboration between journalism and emerging technologies.
As a global audience, we can recognize the importance of upholding journalistic integrity and protecting intellectual property rights. The New York Times, one of the most prominent media outlets, has embarked on a legal battle against two major players in the tech industry, Microsoft and OpenAI. At the core of the issue lies the alleged scraping of copyrighted news content by these companies, which the Times claims was utilized to compete against the newspaper.
In its complaint, filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, The New York Times accuses Microsoft and OpenAI of selectively copying its work to construct large-language models (LLMs). These models were reportedly built by replicating millions of articles, investigative reports, opinion pieces, reviews, and guides from the Times’ extensive repertoire.
The lawsuit further asserts that the defendants placed particular emphasis on incorporating content from The New York Times due to the newspaper’s unrivaled news gathering capabilities and digital strength. Microsoft’s Bing Chat, recently rebranded as Copilot, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT were allegedly the channel through which these LLMs were developed, indicating the defendants’ intent to exploit the Times’ significant investment in journalism for their own gain.
According to the complaint, the defendants’ AI-powered tools can generate output that closely mimics the Times’ content in style, summaries, and even verbatim recitations. The lawsuit underscores that these tools sometimes falsely attribute information to The New York Times, further jeopardizing the integrity of the publication’s work.
Although Microsoft has committed a substantial amount of financial resources to OpenAI and incorporated its technology into Bing, the company has not yet commented on the lawsuit, and neither has OpenAI.
The New York Times highlights the broader implications of this legal battle, warning that if news organizations cannot safeguard their independent journalism, no technology, including artificial intelligence, can fill the void. The lawsuit goes on to detail how the defendants allegedly removed copyright-management information from The Times’ articles when constructing their training datasets.
Additionally, the complaint reveals that as of December 21, 2023, only Wikipedia, WordPress, and Medium rank higher than The New York Times in terms of text-based content sites.
Seeking to halt the alleged practices and seeking damages, The New York Times has asked the court to intervene while asserting the need to protect the value and integrity of quality journalism.
Danielle Coffey, the president and CEO of the News/Media Alliance, praised The New York Times for taking legal action, emphasizing that utilizing journalism without permission or payment is unlawful. Coffey argues that the AI industry should prioritize addressing copyright protected content used without authorization, enabling responsible innovation to coexist with responsible reporting.
The lawsuit filed by The New York Times raises significant concerns about the exploitation of copyrighted material and the need for collaboration and fair compensation within the world of AI and journalism. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, preserving the sanctity of quality journalism becomes increasingly vital to maintain an informed society.
