Social platform Reddit has filed a lawsuit against artificial intelligence startup Anthropic, accusing it of violating its user data policies and engaging in unfair business practices by using Reddit content without authorization.
Filed Wednesday in a San Francisco court, the complaint alleges Anthropic trained its AI models on Reddit’s user-generated content without obtaining a license or user consent. Reddit claims this unauthorized use has caused harm and seeks damages along with a jury trial.
Reddit, which recently partnered with OpenAI and Google under structured licensing agreements, emphasized that “other AI giants respect Reddit’s rules,” contrasting Anthropic’s actions as a “violation of community trust.”
Anthropic, currently valued at over $60 billion and backed by Amazon, denied the allegations. A spokesperson said the company “disagrees with Reddit’s claims and will defend itself vigorously.”
The lawsuit follows Reddit’s IPO in 2024 and underscores growing tensions between content platforms and AI developers over the use of online data for training large language models.
