SAN FRANCISCO — The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft on Thursday, marking a significant legal battle in the news industry’s efforts to address the unauthorized use of journalistic content by artificial intelligence platforms. The nonprofit, known for its publications Mother Jones and Reveal, alleges that OpenAI exploited its copyrighted material without permission or compensation, a claim that underscores broader concerns about how AI-generated content threatens traditional news organizations.
In the lawsuit, filed in a New York federal court, CIR accuses OpenAI of constructing its business model on the “exploitation of copyrighted works” from various media sources. The lawsuit argues that AI-generated summaries of news articles undermine the value of original journalism by providing users with information without directing them to the original sources.
Monika Bauerlein, CEO of CIR, highlighted the gravity of the situation, stating, “It’s immensely dangerous. Our existence relies on users finding our work valuable and deciding to support it.” She expressed concern that when users engage with AI-generated summaries rather than the original articles, it jeopardizes the sustainability of news organizations like Mother Jones and Reveal.
The lawsuit adds to a series of legal challenges faced by OpenAI and Microsoft. The companies are already entangled in several copyright disputes at Manhattan’s federal court, including cases brought by The New York Times, bestselling authors like John Grisham, and other media outlets. Additionally, a separate lawsuit in San Francisco involves authors including comedian Sarah Silverman.
OpenAI and Microsoft have yet to respond to the lawsuit publicly. The companies typically argue that using publicly available text, images, and other media for training AI systems falls under the “fair use” doctrine of American copyright law.
In contrast to CIR’s approach, some news organizations have opted to collaborate with AI developers. For instance, Time magazine recently announced a partnership with OpenAI to provide access to its archives for AI training purposes. Other media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal and News Corp., have also secured licensing agreements with OpenAI.
CIR’s lawsuit details how OpenAI’s dataset, used to develop earlier versions of its chatbot technology, contained thousands of links to Mother Jones’ content. However, the lawsuit claims that this content was used without appropriate attribution or recognition of copyright protections, which are crucial for maintaining the financial viability of journalism.
Last summer, over 4,000 writers petitioned tech companies like OpenAI, accusing them of exploitative practices in building their AI systems. Bauerlein echoed these concerns, emphasizing that news media invest significant resources into producing content and should not be expected to offer their work as a free resource for AI development.
The AP and other major news organizations have negotiated licensing deals with OpenAI over the past year. These agreements aim to ensure that media companies are compensated for their content used in training AI models.
Mother Jones and CIR, both founded in the 1970s and based in San Francisco, merged earlier this year. The lawsuit underscores the challenges faced by investigative journalism in the digital age, highlighting the potential costs to democracy from diminished reporting resources.
“Losing control of copyrighted content will lead to less revenue and fewer reporters, which will be a tremendous loss for investigative journalism,” the lawsuit warns.
