The BBC has threatened to take legal action against an AI firm which tech giant Apple is reportedly considering acquiring.
Perplexity AI’s chatbot is reproducing the BBC’s content without permission, according to the organisation.
It has written to the San Francisco-based firm to demand a cease to this, whilst also deleting any BBC content it has obtained and requesting financial compensation for material used.
It also claimed that the company was inaccurately regurgitating some of its content and will take action against an AI company for the first time.
The BBC has sent a letter to Aravind Srinivas, co-founder and CEO of Perplexity.
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It read: “This constitutes copyright infringement in the UK and breach of the BBC’s terms of use.
“It is therefore highly damaging to the BBC, injuring the BBC’s reputation with audiences – including UK licence fee payers who fund the BBC – and undermining their trust in the BBC.”
The AI firm has responded with a brief statement, which said: “The BBC’s claims are just one more part of the overwhelming evidence that the BBC will do anything to preserve Google’s illegal monopoly.”
Its chatbot, which describes itself as an ‘answer engine’ has become a popular feature in recent years.
It has gained traction along with the likes of Grok and Chat GPT for consumers looking for solutions and answers to questions.
Just this weekend, it has also been reported by Bloomberg that the company has held internal talks with Apple executives regarding a possible acquisition.
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