tech
Reddit keeps its strange DMCA fight over Google search results alive
Reddit advances lawsuit accusing Perplexity AI of conspiring with web scraper.
TL;DR
- A judge denied a motion to dismiss Reddit's lawsuit against web scraper SerpApi and Perplexity AI.
- The lawsuit accuses SerpApi and Perplexity AI of conspiring to illegally scrape copyrighted Reddit content from Google search results.
- The judge found it plausible that SerpApi provided a product to circumvent Google's access controls, which Perplexity AI paid for.
- Reddit argues this circumvention violates its licensing agreement with Google, specifically regarding the deletion of flagged content.
- The ruling allows Reddit to proceed with claims that unauthorized scraping harms its ability to honor user content removals, its reputation, and its profits.
- Unjust enrichment and unfair competition claims against SerpApi and Perplexity AI were dismissed as preempted by the Copyright Act.
- SerpApi plans to argue that it accesses public search results, not Reddit's platform, and that public information is not protected just because a platform wants to charge for it.