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NYT demands Brave shut down its paywall blocker and end deals with AI firms
Publication: Ars Technica - All content
Author: Jon Brodkin
Source published: 03/11/2026, 18:30:27 UTC
Briefing created: 03/11/2026, 21:13:04 UTC
Based on a feed excerpt; full article content has not been acquired. Source evidence retrieved 03/11/2026, 19:43:24 UTC.
Briefings
The New York Times sued Brave Software on November 3, 2026, alleging the browser maker illegally bypasses paywalls and sells stolen news content to AI firms. The suit claims Brave generated over $100 million by reselling publishers' work without consent, while publishers received no compensation. The lawsuit cites specific AI companies including Anthropic, Perplexity, Mistral, xAI, and Cohere as beneficiaries of Brave's search index. The NYT alleges AI companies pay Brave to provide real-time content and use it for training models and responding to queries.
Key points
- The New York Times filed a lawsuit against Brave Software on November 3, 2026, in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.
- Brave Software allegedly generated over $100 million by reselling publishers' work without consent, while publishers received no compensation.
Context
The lawsuit alleges Brave Software acts as a supplier, dealer, and distributor of stolen copyrighted content for its own users and prominent AI companies. The suit cites third-party revenue estimates claiming Brave made more than $100 million by copying and reselling publishers' work without consent or permission. AI companies reportedly pay Brave to provide them with real-time online content from the Brave search index, which is used to train their own AI models and respond to specific user queries.
Limitations
The evidence is limited to the New York Times lawsuit alleging specific revenue figures and named AI companies. The source does not confirm the $100 million figure or the exact nature of the revenue claims. The lawsuit details are based on allegations rather than verified facts, and the specific AI companies listed may not be the only ones affected.
Generated by Bittrees-hosted qwen35-2b sha256:aaf42c8b7c3c on 03/11/2026, 21:13:04 UTC. Based on publisher-provided feed evidence; may not cover the full original article. Check the source for details.
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