Perplexity, the fast-rising artificial intelligence startup, has found itself entangled in fresh controversy after being sued by two of Japan’s most influential media organisations—Nikkei and Asahi Shimbun. The publications allege that the AI company has been illegally copying and storing their content to power its search and assistant products, bypassing safeguards meant to prevent such use.

The lawsuit marks a significant escalation in the growing global pushback from news publishers against AI companies accused of exploiting journalistic work without authorisation or compensation. The complaint by Nikkei, owner of the Financial Times, and Asahi Shimbun underscores mounting fears that unchecked AI scraping could undermine not just the economics of journalism, but also the credibility and trustworthiness of news.

Perplexity, led by CEO Aravind Srinivas, has positioned itself as a bold alternative to traditional search engines. Srinivas has publicly argued that AI-driven platforms will soon replace conventional search, urging companies like Google to adapt to the shift—a move Google itself is exploring through its AI Overviews and AI Mode in Search.

But this AI-first approach depends on access to high-quality information. According to the Japanese media giants, Perplexity has crossed the line by not only crawling their content without consent but also ignoring restrictions such as the widely used robots.txt file, which signals to automated systems that content should not be scrapped.

These accusations echo concerns voiced by publishers across the world. In India, the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA), representing leading media houses, has criticised what it calls “commercial free riding” by AI firms on the hard work of journalists. “AI innovation is important, but it cannot come at the cost of undermining journalism, which is the cornerstone of democracy,” a DNPA spokesperson said in a statement. The group has called for a clear legal framework that would require AI platforms to seek permission before using copyrighted material and to share revenues fairly.

Legal battles are already unfolding elsewhere. In November 2024, Asia News International (ANI) sued OpenAI in the Delhi High Court, alleging its content was misused for training without consent and even falsely attributed in AI outputs. In the United States, The New York Times has filed a landmark lawsuit against OpenAI. Meanwhile, in Europe, some publishers have struck licensing deals with AI companies, while others have chosen to block their crawlers altogether.

Japan’s copyright laws add another layer of complexity. While limited AI training on copyrighted content is permitted, companies are explicitly barred from storing material without permission. They are also expected to honour technical guardrails. The lawsuits against Perplexity argue that these boundaries have been ignored.

On its part, Perplexity has pursued partnerships with some global publishers, including Fortune, Time, Le Monde, Der Spiegel, and the Los Angeles Times. The company has also pledged $42.5 million to compensate media houses through revenue generated on its Comet web browser and AI assistant. However, it has not yet signed any such deals in India.

Founded in 2022 and now valued at $18 billion, Perplexity remains one of the fastest-growing AI startups. But as the lawsuits from Nikkei and Asahi highlight, the road to becoming the next-generation search engine is unlikely to be smooth—and may force the company, and the industry at large, to confront tough questions about the balance between AI innovation and journalistic integrity.