Michelle ThompsonA coalition of major Canadian news outlets is suing OpenAI, the creator of the ChatGPT AI chatbot, accusing the company of unlawfully using news articles to train its software.
The lawsuit includes prominent organizations such as the Toronto Star, Metroland Media, Postmedia, The Globe and Mail, The Canadian Press, and CBC, marking what is reportedly the first case of its kind in Canada.
“Journalism serves the public interest. OpenAI using other companies’ journalism for their own profit is illegal,” the media outlets stated in a joint message.
OpenAI maintains that its models are “trained on publicly available data” and that the software is “based on fair use and international copyright principles that protect creators and foster innovation.” The company further stated it works closely with news publishers, ensuring proper attribution and offering an opt-out option.
In their 84-page legal filing, the Canadian media group accuses OpenAI of disregarding safeguards like paywalls and copyright notices designed to prevent unauthorized use of content.
“OpenAI regularly violates copyright and online terms of use by scraping significant amounts of content from Canadian media to develop its products, including ChatGPT,” the media coalition claims.
The group, which includes Canada’s leading newspaper publishers, is seeking punitive damages of C$20,000 ($14,300; £11,000) per article they believe was used unlawfully in training ChatGPT, which could amount to billions of dollars in total compensation.
The media outlets are also asking for an order to compel OpenAI to share any profits made from using their articles and to stop using their content in the future.
While this legal action is the first from Canadian publishers, it follows a similar lawsuit in the U.S. last year, in which the New York Times and other publishers took legal action. In April, lawyers for the Times accused OpenAI of destroying evidence critical to their case.
Additionally, the Authors Guild, alongside prominent authors like John Grisham, has also claimed copyright infringement.
Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI’s valuation reached C$219bn following its latest investment round.
Emily Martinez
