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reddit Using social media companies' platforms and unauthorized data, it sues humanity, artificial intelligence startups, to engage in what they call a breach of contract and “illegal and unfair business practices.”
The lawsuit filed Wednesday in San Francisco claims that humanity is training a model for Reddit users' personal data without consent. Reddit claims it was harmed by unauthorized commercial use of the content.
Reddit's shares spiked over 7% on Wednesday, hitting their highs the day after the lawsuit was released.
The company has complained by calling humanity “left-of-blooming” AI companies that “claim itself as the AI industry's white knights” a “late blooming” AI company. Reddit continues by saying, “That's nothing.”
“In that part, despite what the marketing materials say, humanity doesn't care about Reddit rules or users. It thinks it's entitled to adopt what it wants and use that content.
With immunity,” Filing said.
In an email statement, a humanity spokesman said, “We will oppose Reddit's claims and will vehemently defend ourselves.”
Since the generation AI boom began with Openai's ChatGPT launch in late 2022, Reddit has been at the forefront of conversation. The site 20 years ago is packed with user-generated information on hundreds of thousands of topics, and is a major training source for large-scale AI models, including the Claude of Mankind.
Reddit announced a partnership with Openai in May, allowing the company to train AI models with Reddit content. The company has similar agreements Google.
In the lawsuit, Reddit said “other giants in the AI space understand and respect Reddit's rules.” We have named Openai and Google as companies that protect user privacy “while you are permitted to use Public Reddit content, only after you agree to Reddit's license terms.”
Openai CEO Sam Altman is a former board member and major shareholder of Reddit, and is now worth well over $1 billion.
In March, Humanity was valued at $61.5 billion in a funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, including participation from Salesforce Ventures and Cisco Investments. Founded in 2021 by former Openai executives, the company Amazon.
Reddit held an IPO in 2024 and currently has a market capitalization of around $22 billion.
Reddit says it has established rules that determine how data is used. This is “clearly commemorated” in the filing with Reddit user agreement, the company said.
“Reddit has always been a mindset that the community should be open to all people looking for connections and communities, but it has never allowed countless communities to find that platform and the home above it to be assigned by commercial actors who are seeking to create a billion-dollar business and offer nothing to Reddit and its users,” the complaint states.
Reddit said the purpose of the lawsuit was to seek damages and to comply with humanity's contractual and legal obligations. I am seeking a trial.
Watch: Reddit sues humanity for claiming illegal use of content