Reddit Inc. (RDDT) has filed a lawsuit against AI company Anthropic, accusing the firm of illegally using its platform’s content to train artificial intelligence models without permission.
Since the generative AI surge began with OpenAI’s ChatGPT launch in late 2022, Reddit’s vast repository of user-generated content has become a major source for training large AI models.
Notably, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is a significant investor in Reddit, holding a stake valued at over $1 billion.
Reddit’s lawsuit, filed in San Francisco, alleges that Anthropic breached contract terms and engaged in “unlawful and unfair business acts” by using Reddit’s platform and personal user data without consent.
Reddit claims that Anthropic’s unauthorized commercial use of its content has caused harm to the company.
Following the lawsuit announcement, Reddit’s shares jumped more than 7%, reaching the day’s high.
The complaint describes Anthropic as a “late-blooming” AI firm that markets itself as a “white knight” in the AI industry — a portrayal Reddit strongly disputes.
Reddit accuses Anthropic of ignoring Reddit’s rules and users, asserting the company “believes it can take any content it wants and use it however it pleases, without consequence.”
Anthropic responded via email, stating, “We disagree with Reddit’s claims and will defend ourselves vigorously.”
Reddit’s platform, nearly 20 years old, hosts discussions on hundreds of thousands of topics, making it a valuable training resource for AI models, including Anthropic’s Claude.
Reddit recently partnered with OpenAI and has a similar agreement with Google, allowing these companies to train AI models on Reddit content under licensing agreements designed to protect user privacy.
Reddit’s lawsuit emphasizes that other major AI players “understand and respect Reddit’s rules” by adhering to these licensing terms.
Anthropic, founded in 2021 by former OpenAI employees, was valued at $61.5 billion in a recent funding round backed by investors like Lightspeed Venture Partners, Salesforce Ventures, Cisco Investments, and Amazon. Reddit went public in 2024 and currently has a market capitalization around $22 billion.
The company insists it has clearly outlined rules in its user agreement governing how its data can be used. Reddit maintains it has always welcomed an open community but rejects commercial exploitation of its platform without compensation or respect for its users. Through this lawsuit, Reddit seeks damages and wants Anthropic to comply with its legal and contractual obligations. The company is requesting a jury trial.
“We support an open internet — but that doesn’t mean open for commercial exploitation,” said Ben Lee, Reddit’s chief legal officer, in a statement. “We will not stand by while companies like Anthropic mine Reddit content to build billion-dollar businesses without compensating the platform or its users, or respecting their privacy.”
The San Francisco-based platform, known for its vast troves of niche discussions and user-generated knowledge, recently began monetizing its data more aggressively through partnerships with AI firms. The lawsuit could test the boundaries of data ownership and fair use in the rapidly evolving AI industry.
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