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Reddit and Perplexity AI clash over law firm’s role in data-scraping case

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The Straits Times. (2026, October 13). Reddit and Perplexity AI clash over law firm’s role in data-scraping case. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/reddit-and-perplexity-ai-clash-over-law-firms-role-in-data-scraping-case

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The Straits Times · collected 2026-10-13 · by The Straits Times

Quick Summary

Reddit is suing Perplexity AI, claiming the company stole Reddit content to train its AI systems, and has asked a federal judge to prevent Proskauer Rose from representing Perplexity due to a conflict of interest. In October 2025, Reddit accused Perplexity of illegally scraping data from its forums for use in their AI technology. Proskauer contends it does not have a conflict of interest despite previously working with Reddit and denies ever agreeing not to represent Perplexity.
Written by AI on 2026-10-13, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In October 2023, Reddit asked a federal judge in Manhattan to prevent Proskauer Rose, its former law firm, from representing Perplexity AI. Reddit claims that Proskauer has a conflict of interest due to previously working on whistleblower cases for the company and earlier agreeing not to represent Perplexity. Reddit argues that Proskauer's actions amount to dropping them like a “hot potato.” In response, Proskauer contends there is no conflict of interest and denies ever promising not to represent Perplexity. This case reflects growing concerns over copyright infringement by AI companies using scraped data from social media platforms.

Written for “Reddit Data Scraping Dispute” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Reddit Data Scraping Dispute
Technology · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
15
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
7%
1 of 15 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
The Straits Times's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Technology
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-13 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Running correction rate · 5 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

The Straits Times
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Topics

Perplexity Perplexity AI Proskauer Reddit WASHINGTON

Subjects

Reddit ORG · 14× Perplexity ORG · 8× Proskauer ORG · 6× Perplexity AI ORG · 2× Google ORG · 1× Manhattan GPE · 1× Proskauer Rose ORG · 1× REUTERS ORG · 1× WASHINGTON GPE · 1×

Narrative

Reddit has asked a federal judge to block its former law firm Proskauer Rose from defending Perplexity AI in a lawsuit alleging the AI search start-up company stole Reddit content, arguing it was dropped like a “hot potato” by lawyers who owed it client loyalties.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-13
🔮 Reddit also said Proskauer earlier vowed it would not represent Perplexity.
2026-10-13 · The Straits Times
Reddit and Perplexity AI clash over law firm’s role in data-scraping case · assertive framing

Claims (15 extracted, 1 hedged)

Reddit and Perplexity AI clash over law firm’s role in data-scraping case AI generated asserted
Reddit → clash → case
Reddit has asked a federal judge to block its former law firm Proskauer Rose from defending Perplexity AI in a lawsuit alleging the AI search start-up company stole Reddit content, arguing it was dropped like a “hot potato” by lawyers who owed it client loyalties. asserted
who → ask → loyalties
In a court filing on Oct 9 in Manhattan federal court, Reddit said Proskauer has a conflict of interest due to its past work for Reddit in a whistleblower case. asserted
Proskauer → say → case
Reddit also said Proskauer earlier vowed it would not represent Perplexity. asserted
it → say → Perplexity
“Proskauer cannot drop Reddit like a hot potato in favour of Perplexity,” Reddit said in its filing. asserted
Reddit → drop → filing
Proskauer contends Reddit has no basis to disqualify the firm. asserted
Reddit → contend → firm
In a court filing on Oct 9, the firm said its work for Reddit in the whistleblower matter did not create a conflict of interest that should bar the firm from representing Perplexity now. asserted
that → say → Perplexity
It also denied it ever agreed not to represent Perplexity. asserted
it → deny → Perplexity
Reddit declined to comment other than to refer to its court filings. asserted
Reddit → decline → filings
Perplexity and Proskauer did not immediately respond to requests for comment. asserted
Perplexity → respond → comment
The case is part of a wave of copyright cases targeting AI companies over their alleged use of protected content for AI training. asserted
case → target → training
Proskauer argues Perplexity should be able to rely on its chosen counsel in a case exposing it to large potential damages. asserted
Perplexity → argue → damages
Reddit filed the lawsuit in 2025, alleging Perplexity illegally scraped its online forums for data it needs for its online “answer engine” system. asserted
it → file → system
Perplexity has denied Reddit’s copyright infringement claims. uncertain
Perplexity → deny → claims
Reddit has content licensing deals with Google and others for AI training. asserted
Reddit → have → training
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