The complaint alleges Perplexity scraped CNN’s content to power its AI answer engine, reproduced paywalled articles verbatim, and fabricated a CNN partnership that does not exist.

On May 28, 2026, CNN filed a lawsuit against Perplexity AI in federal court alleging the AI company scraped and reproduced more than 17,000 of CNN’s articles, videos, and other works to power its products without authorization or compensation. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, brings claims for copyright infringement under the Copyright Act and trademark violations under the Lanham Act.

What CNN alleges Perplexity did

CNN’s complaint describes violations at two stages.

At the input stage, Perplexity used its own web crawlers, PerplexityBot and Perplexity-User, to scrape CNN’s digital platforms and copy its content into an AI search index used to generate responses. CNN also alleges that Perplexity ignored the instructions CNN placed on its website telling automated bots not to access or copy its content. The complaint cites findings by Cloudflare researchers who reported in August 2025 that Perplexity used undisclosed crawlers to impersonate Google Chrome on macOS and access content even after sites explicitly blocked its declared bots.

At the output stage, CNN provides side-by-side examples showing Perplexity’s chatbot, Comet browser, and Search and Agent APIs reproducing CNN articles verbatim, including content behind CNN’s paywall. One example shows Perplexity’s Agent API reproducing an entire CNN article in response to a user prompt. Another shows Perplexity’s Comet browser bypassing CNN’s paywall and delivering the full text of a subscription article to a user who had not paid CNN.

CNN also alleges trademark violations. When asked about Perplexity’s Comet Plus subscription tier, the chatbot told users they could access CNN’s premium content through it, a claim CNN says is false.

The complaint notes that in 2024, Perplexity paid $8 million to Anthropic and OpenAI for model access, $48 million for cloud services, and $19 million for talent, while paying nothing to CNN or other publishers whose content powers its products.

CNN and Perplexity: Almost Partners

In October 2025, CNN and Perplexity negotiated a partnership allowing Perplexity’s Comet browser to access CNN’s paywalled content for a fee. The deal fell apart by November 2025, with CNN citing unresolved disagreements over limits on Perplexity’s use of CNN content.

CNN had blocked PerplexityBot before and during those negotiations. In December 2025, CNN sent Perplexity a cease-and-desist letter. Perplexity did not respond, and CNN alleges that Perplexity continued to use its content.

Other content providers are suing Perplexity as well

This case joins a growing list of similar suits against Perplexity. The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Merriam-Webster, and Dow Jones all filed comparable claims. In August 2025, the Dow Jones court denied Perplexity’s motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, finding the company’s New York office, employees, and targeted advertising sufficient to establish jurisdiction.