Reddit has taken legal action against Anthropic, an artificial intelligence firm, accusing it of unlawfully harvesting user comments to enhance its chatbot, Claude. The lawsuit, filed in California, claims Anthropic utilized automated tools to collect data from Reddit without permission, thereby violating user privacy rights.
Ben Lee, Reddit’s chief legal officer, emphasized that AI companies should not gather information from users without strict limits on usage. He pointed out that Reddit has previously entered into proper licensing agreements with firms like Google and OpenAI, ensuring that users’ rights are protected and that they can erase their content if desired.
These agreements also support Reddit financially, aiding its transition to a publicly traded company. Anthropic, founded by former OpenAI leaders, competes directly with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and has partnered with Amazon to enhance its Alexa voice assistant.
Anthropic has defended its practices, arguing that its methods of training Claude adhere to legal guidelines by analyzing a vast dataset without infringing on copyrights. The company contends that it is engaging in lawful acts that allow it to develop AI technology.
However, Reddit’s lawsuit stands apart from other legal actions against AI firms, as it does not claim copyright violations but focuses instead on breaching Reddit’s terms and the unfair competition it alleges was created by Anthropic’s actions.
