The New York Times and a group of other publications have filed lawsuits against Brave Software, the company behind the Brave web browser, over alleged unlawful scraping to train AI and allegations that the browser lets users bypass their paywalls, according to Reuters reporting cited by The Verge.
According to a complaint filed by the New York Daily News, the Chicago Tribune and the Orlando Sentinel, Brave has monetized its index of scraped websites in part by providing AI companies with paid access to "real-time online content from the Brave Index." Those companies then use the index to train their models, to access content as they respond to user queries, or both, the complaint says.
The filing alleges Brave has provided "stolen copyrighted content" to "many" AI companies, naming Anthropic, Perplexity, Mistral, xAI and Cohere. It also says Brave promotes "hundreds of top publishers" as accessible through its "Paywall blocker" feature. "Brave allows its users to bypass the Publishers' paywalls without their consent, and has taken other steps that prevent the Publishers from blocking Brave's access to the Publishers' websites," the complaint says, adding that Brave has never compensated the publishers.
Graham James, a New York Times spokesperson, said in a statement to The Verge: "While we believe in the ethical and responsible use and development of AI, Brave has flouted established copyright law and ignored repeated requests by The Times to stop its infringing conduct." James said: "We filed this lawsuit to hold Brave accountable for stealing our content to power its own products and to provide it to some of the most prominent and well resourced generative AI companies in the world."
Steven Lieberman, the attorney who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the three other publications, said: "AI giants are now desperate to avoid getting caught red-handed stealing news from publishers, so Brave Software is selling them a back door to the journalism they know they have no right to." Lieberman said: "Buying stolen goods secondhand doesn't make them legitimate. Brave must be held responsible for laundering pirated reporting for the AI industry."
Jesse Dwyer, Perplexity's chief communications officer, said of the litigation: "The New York Times is overpaying its attorneys and underpaying its journalists. (Who could've easily identified the disinformation in this suit.)"
Brave, Anthropic, Mistral and Cohere did not immediately reply to a request for comment, The Verge reported.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The cases test whether a browser that strips paywalls and sells access to a scraped index of news sites is liable for copyright infringement, a question with consequences for how AI developers obtain timely news content.
- Several prominent AI developers are named in the complaint as customers of that index, widening a fight that has so far mostly pitted publishers directly against model makers.
- The outcome could affect whether publishers can rely on paywalls and site blocks to control access to their journalism at all.
Background
Brave Software makes the Brave browser, which markets itself on blocking ads and trackers and on privacy, and which also runs its own search index rather than relying solely on other providers. Publishers have for several years pursued litigation and licensing deals over the use of their articles to train and feed generative AI systems, and news organisations have argued that such use goes beyond fair dealing with their copyrighted work. These filings bring a browser maker, rather than only an AI developer, into that dispute.
Key Perspectives
Graham James, New York Times spokesperson: says the paper supports ethical AI development but that Brave has "flouted established copyright law" and ignored requests to stop, and that the suit aims to hold it accountable for "stealing our content."
Steven Lieberman, attorney for the New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune and Orlando Sentinel: says Brave is selling AI companies "a back door to the journalism they know they have no right to" and must be held responsible for "laundering pirated reporting."
Jesse Dwyer, Perplexity chief communications officer: dismissed the suit, saying the Times is "overpaying its attorneys and underpaying its journalists."
What to Watch
- Brave's formal response to the complaints, which had not been filed at the time of the report.
- Any early court ruling on whether operating a paywall blocker and selling access to a scraped index amount to infringement distinct from the underlying scraping.
- Whether Anthropic, Mistral, xAI or Cohere, named as recipients of the index, address the allegations publicly after declining immediate comment.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 11 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedGraham James said: “While we believe in the ethical and responsible use and development of AI, Brave has flouted established copyright law and ignored repeated requests by The Times to stop its infringing conduct.”The Verge: ““While we believe in the ethical and responsible use and development of AI, Brave has flouted established copyright law and ignored repeated requests by The Times to stop its infringing conduct,” Graham James, an NYT spokesperson, says in a statement to The Verge.”
- SupportedGraham James said: “We filed this lawsuit to hold Brave accountable for stealing our content to power its own products and to provide it to some of the most prominent and well resourced generative AI companies in the world.”The Verge: ““We filed this lawsuit to hold Brave accountable for stealing our content to power its own products and to provide it to some of the most prominent and well resourced generative AI companies in the world.””
- SupportedSteven Lieberman said: “AI giants are now desperate to avoid getting caught red-handed stealing news from publishers, so Brave Software is selling them a back door to the journalism they know they have no right to.”The Verge: ““AI giants are now desperate to avoid getting caught red-handed stealing news from publishers, so Brave Software is selling them a back door to the journalism they know they have no right to,” says Steven Lieberman, the attorney who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the other three publications.”
- SupportedSteven Lieberman said: “Buying stolen goods secondhand doesn't make them legitimate. Brave must be held responsible for laundering pirated reporting for the AI industry.”The Verge: ““Buying stolen goods secondhand doesn’t make them legitimate. Brave must be held responsible for laundering pirated reporting for the AI industry.””
- SupportedJesse Dwyer said: “The New York Times is overpaying its attorneys and underpaying its journalists. (Who could've easily identified the disinformation in this suit.)”The Verge: ““The New York Times is overpaying its attorneys and underpaying its journalists. (Who could've easily identified the disinformation in this suit.)” says Jesse Dwyer, Perplexity’s chief communications officer.”
- SupportedThe complaint says Brave lets users bypass publishers’ paywalls without consent and has taken steps to prevent publishers from blocking its access.The Verge: ““On the contrary, as noted above, Brave allows its users to bypass the Publishers’ paywalls without their consent, and has taken other steps that prevent the Publishers from blocking Brave’s access to the Publishers’ websites.””
- SupportedBrave provides AI companies paid access to “real-time online content from the Brave Index.”The Verge: “Brave Software has monetized its index of scraped websites by, in part, providing AI companies with paid access to “real-time online content from the Brave Index.””
- SupportedThe three-newspaper complaint alleges Brave provided “stolen copyrighted content” to Anthropic, Perplexity, Mistral, xAI and Cohere.The Verge: “Brave has allegedly provided “stolen copyrighted content” to “many” AI companies including Anthropic, Perplexity, Mistral, xAI, and Cohere.”
- SupportedBrave promotes “hundreds of top publishers” as accessible through its “Paywall blocker” feature.The Verge: “Brave also promotes “hundreds of top publishers” as being accessible through its “Paywall blocker” feature in its browser.”
- SupportedThe AI companies use the index to train models, access content to respond to user queries, or both.The Verge: “The AI companies then use that index to train their models, access content to “respond to specific user queries,” or both.”
- SupportedThe New York Times and other publications have filed lawsuits against Brave over alleged unlawful scraping for AI training and alleged paywall bypass.The Verge: “The New York Times and a group of other publications have filed lawsuits against the company that makes the Brave web browser over alleged unlawful scraping to train AI and also letting users bypass their paywalls, as reported by Reuters.”
- Partly supportedThe complaint says Brave has never compensated the publishers.The Verge: “Brave has never compensated the Publishers for the unlawful use, copying, and distribution of the Publishers’ copyrighted content.”
