Seattle Times and Newsday sue OpenAI and Microsoft over AI training
The Seattle Times and Newsday have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging that the companies used their copyrighted journalistic content without authorization to train AI models. The publishers claim that the companies systematically scraped articles, bypassing paywalls, to feed their systems, thereby diverting traffic and digital ad revenue. The lawsuit also raises concerns about AI-generated 'hallucinations' falsely attributed to the newspapers and the removal of copyright management information. It describes generative AI as 'a snake eating its own tail' that could destroy journalism. This case follows a similar lawsuit by The New York Times in 2023 and adds to the growing legal battles between media companies and AI firms. Notably, Microsoft and OpenAI have previously funded journalism projects at The Seattle Times. Microsoft expressed surprise but a willingness to resolve the dispute. The lawsuit was filed on September 7, 2026.
- •The Seattle Times and Newsday filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft on September 7, 2026.
- •The lawsuit alleges unauthorized scraping of articles and use of copyrighted content to train AI models, bypassing paywalls.
- •The publishers claim the practice diverts traffic and digital ad revenue, and raises concerns about AI hallucinations and removal of copyright management information.