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Publishers accuse Brave of scraping content and bypassing paywalls for AI firms
Developing story first seen 3 hours ago
The updated account clarifies that the lawsuit involving the New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune and Orlando Sentinel was filed by the publications themselves, not the companies that run them. Their complaint and a separate suit by The New York Times accuse Brave Software of scraping publishers’ material without permission, selling access to its index to AI firms and helping users bypass paywalls.
The publishers allege that Brave’s index was used to train AI models or answer user queries, and name Anthropic, Perplexity, Mistral, xAI and Cohere. They say Brave promoted hundreds of publishers as available through its paywall blocker and did not compensate them. The Times says it sued after repeated requests to stop; Brave and several named firms had not immediately commented, while Perplexity disputed the allegations.
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In short
- The update clarifies which publications filed one of the lawsuits.
- Publishers accuse Brave of scraping content and enabling paywall bypasses.
- The complaint names five AI companies that allegedly accessed Brave’s index.
How this story developed
- 1 hour ago The later account broadened the report’s framing, stressing the case’s implications for publishers’ control over copyrighted work used in AI products and browser features; it also said Perplexity criticised the lawsuit, while the earlier account said it disputed the allegations.
- 1 hour ago The New York Times and other publishers accused Brave Software of copying their material without permission, selling access to its index to AI firms and enabling users to bypass paywalls; the publishers said the index could be used to train AI models or answer queries, and alleged Brave promoted access to hundreds of publishers without paying them.
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The case for
Publishers can argue that copying and distributing their reporting without permission or payment undermines their ability to fund journalism and control how their work is used. If a browser feature helps users bypass paywalls, it may also weaken subscriptions that support reporting; legal action could clarify protections as AI use expands.
The case against
Brave and AI firms could argue that indexing and making material discoverable through browser tools can serve users and support new forms of access, and that the legality depends on how the material is used. They may also contend that paywall-related features or AI training do not automatically establish infringement, and that courts should weigh those uses against publishers’ claims rather than treating them as settled.
Explained simply
Brave is a company that makes a web browser, the software people use to visit websites. The publishers bringing the case include the companies behind The New York Times, the New York Daily News, the Chicago Tribune and the Orlando Sentinel.
AI companies build systems that generate answers or other content from information, and they may use large collections of material to train those systems or respond to questions. Publishers earn money from their reporting through subscriptions and other means, and often restrict access to some articles with paywalls.
The dispute raises questions about who can copy and supply published work for AI services, and whether browser features can make restricted articles easier to access. Those questions affect publishers, technology companies and readers who rely on both journalism and AI tools.
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Originally published by The Verge as “The New York Times sues Brave web browser for AI scraping and bypassing paywalls”.