NYT Says OpenAI Knew AI Posed Existential Threat to Publishers

Publishers and technology companies are locked in a widening dispute over whether copyrighted journalism can be used without permission to train generative artificial intelligence. The Seattle Times and Long Island newspaper Newsday argue that products including ChatGPT and Copilot benefit commercially from original reporting without paying licensing fees, threatening publishers’ subscription revenue, web traffic and ability to fund news gathering.

The newspapers sued OpenAI and Microsoft in Manhattan federal court on April 30, 2025, alleging their AI systems copied and reproduced copyrighted articles without authorization. They are seeking damages, an injunction and the destruction of models incorporating their content, though no specific monetary claim was disclosed. Microsoft said it was surprised by the lawsuit and remained willing to discuss the dispute with publishers.

As generative AI expands rapidly, news organizations fear technology companies are using vast volumes of reporting to train models without authorization and generating answers directly within search interfaces, eroding subscriptions, advertising revenue and traffic. New York Times Publisher A.G. Sulzberger says journalism, which requires investment in reporting and verification, faces an existential crisis if original content is not fairly compensated.

The New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on December 27, 2023. The lawsuit did not specify damages but alleged losses amounting to billions of dollars. In a recent speech at the World News Media Congress, Sulzberger accused AI companies of plundering journalistic intellectual property on a massive scale and urged the industry to fight back collectively through litigation, licensing negotiations and policy advocacy.