The news: Reddit is suing AI startup Anthropic, accusing the firm of scraping its site more than 100,000 times without permission.
- According to court filings, Reddit claims Anthropic ignored its data-use policies and failed to negotiate a licensing agreement to train its Claude AI models, unlike partners such as OpenAI and Google.
- The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, seeks financial damages and a jury trial.
Zooming out: This comes at a critical moment for Reddit, which has been expanding its data licensing business and launching AI-based features for users (like Reddit Answers) while also depending on advertising revenues. Anthropic, recently valued at $61.5 billion, is accused of enriching its product without paying for the data Reddit sees as central to its commercial model.
Why it matters: Reddit’s business revolves around attention.