Reddit has filed a lawsuit against artificial intelligence company Anthropic, accusing it of scraping and using the platformâs data to train its AI chatbot, Claude, without a licensing agreement or compensation.
The complaint, filed in a Northern California court, alleges breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and trespass to chattels, among other claims.
According to the legal filing, Anthropicâa public benefit corporation founded by former OpenAI employeesâtrained Claude on Reddit content as early as December 2021, despite Redditâs user agreement prohibiting commercial exploitation without permission. The lawsuit cites internal research by Anthropicâs team, including CEO Dario Amodei, which identified Reddit comments as âhigh-quality dataâ for fine-tuning AI models.
Reddit claims Anthropic ignored its robots.txt directivesâa standard protocol to block web scrapingâand continued accessing the platform over 100,000 times after publicly claiming it had stopped. The social media giant also alleges that Anthropicâs refusal to enter licensing talks, unlike competitors OpenAI and Google, deprived Reddit of revenue and violated user privacy protections.
âWe will not tolerate profit-seeking entities like Anthropic commercially exploiting Reddit content for billions of dollars without any return for creditors or respect for their privacy,â said Ben Lee, Redditâs chief legal officer, in a statement to TechCrunch.
The lawsuit highlights concerns over AI companies leveraging publicly available data without accountability. Redditâs licensing agreements with other firms include safeguards like API-based deletion protocols for user-removed contentâa feature Anthropic allegedly bypassed.
Anthropic has not publicly responded to the allegations. Reddit seeks compensatory damages, restitution, and an injunction to halt further use of its data.
This case joins a growing list of legal challenges against AI firms, including lawsuits by The New York Times and authors over unauthorized data use. The outcome could set a precedent for how AI companies access and monetise publicly available online content.
Athens-based architect and designer Katerina Kamprani has a delightful way of turning functionality on its head.
In her series The Uncomfortable, Kamprani reimagines everyday objects with an absurd twistâmaking them hilariously impractical, and at times, entirely unusable.
From double-handled wine glasses to stairs that lead nowhere, her creations strike a perfect balance between humor and frustration.
Each design invites you to imagine the moment of attempted use, and the immediate regret that would follow.
Far from a one-off project, The Uncomfortable has grown into a prolific and thoughtful exploration of design gone wrong.
Itâs a playful reminder of how much we take usability for granted. Plus how deeply (good) design affects our daily lives.
Feast your eyes (and scratch your head) at the brilliantly maddening collection below.
See more of her work on Kamprani’s website.
Images shared with permission from the artist.
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