Reddit Lawsuit Against Perplexity AI and SerpApi Survives Dismissal in Data Scraping Battle

Reddit Scores Early Win in AI Copyright Lawsuit

A Manhattan federal judge has rejected most of Perplexity AI's bid to dismiss a Reddit lawsuit accusing the AI startup of violating copyright law through unauthorized scraping of Reddit's content3

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. US District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer ruled on Friday that Reddit has plausibly demonstrated that Perplexity AI and data scraping services conspired to illegally scrape copyrighted Reddit content from Google search results1

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. The decision allows Reddit to continue pressing claims that Perplexity and three data scrapers—SerpApi, Oxylabs, and AWMProxy—unlawfully circumvented protective measures to access content for AI training data3

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How the DMCA Lawsuit Differs from Google's Failed Case

The ruling comes less than two weeks after another court dismissed a similar action raised by Google, finding insufficient proof that rights holders like Reddit had authorized the search engine to prevent scraping1

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. Judge Engelmayer distinguished Reddit's case by noting the company went beyond bare allegations, arguing its licensing agreement with Google directly prohibits certain uses of Reddit data now being accessed through anti-circumvention measures employed by third-party scrapers1

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. Reddit successfully argued that when it licenses content to partners like Google, those partners agree to delete posts flagged when users remove content—a promise that millions of monthly post deletions depend upon1

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Reddit's Standing to Sue Under Copyright Law

Judge Engelmayer ruled that Reddit has standing to sue for Perplexity's alleged misuse of its users' content, despite the platform not owning the copyrighted material itself3

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. This addresses a key question raised by DMCA experts about whether Reddit, as neither the copyright owner nor the creator of Google's protective technology, could bring such claims1

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. The decision suggests courts may accept that platforms can enforce protections on behalf of their user communities when licensing agreements are in place.

What Reddit Seeks in Injunction and Monetary Damages

Reddit has asked the court for multiple forms of relief: an injunction blocking SerpApi and Perplexity AI access to both Reddit and Google websites, another injunction stopping circumvention of Google SearchGuard, and a third preventing the defendants from using previously scraped data1

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. The platform also seeks unspecified monetary damages3

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. Ben Lee, Reddit's chief legal officer, stated the ruling brings the company closer to holding bad actors accountable, emphasizing that Reddit supports responsible access to public content but opposes companies that bypass protections and profit off communities without permission2

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Perplexity and SerpApi Vow to Defend Open Internet

Perplexity AI responded defiantly, stating that Reddit's suit claims the right to control access to public web pages it doesn't own, using a security tool it didn't build, on behalf of users it hasn't asked3

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. The company vowed to defend the open internet and predicted victory. SerpApi similarly argued that Google and Reddit are trying to use the DMCA to wall off the open Internet by retroactively claiming control over content they didn't author and don't own1

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. SerpApi's attorney stated the company accesses public search results, not Reddit's platform, and that public information doesn't become protected simply because a platform wants to charge for it3

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Implications for AI-Powered Search Engine Licensing

If Reddit wins this AI copyright lawsuit, the platform could be better positioned to force all AI scrapers to enter licensing agreements1

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. Reddit, which features thousands of interest-based subreddit communities, has already licensed its content to Google, OpenAI, and others for AI training3

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. The lawsuit claims Reddit is the most commonly cited source for AI-generated answers to user questions, making control over this data particularly valuable3

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. This case joins many filed by content owners including authors, music labels, and news outlets against tech companies over alleged misuse of copyrighted material for AI systems3

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What to Watch as Discovery Proceeds

Judge Engelmayer noted that SerpApi and Perplexity AI may still prove through discovery that Reddit never authorized Google to protect its content in Google search results1

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. SerpApi may also strengthen its defense by proving that publicly accessible content in search results isn't protected by the Copyright Act1

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. The fight appears far from over, with fundamental questions about who controls public web content and how anti-circumvention measures apply to AI training still unresolved. Reddit has also filed a separate data-scraping lawsuit against Anthropic that remains ongoing in California state court3

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