Reddit and Perplexity AI clash over law firm’s role in data-scraping case

WASHINGTON – Reddit has asked a federal judge to block its former law firm Proskauer Rose from defending Perplexity AI in a lawsuit alleging the AI search start-up company stole Reddit content, arguing it was dropped like a “hot potato” by lawyers who owed it client loyalties.In a court filing on Oct 9 in Manhattan federal court, Reddit said Proskauer has a conflict of interest due to its past work for Reddit in a whistleblower case. Reddit also said Proskauer earlier vowed it would not represent Perplexity.“Proskauer cannot drop Reddit like a hot potato in favour of Perplexity,” Reddit said in its filing.Proskauer contends Reddit has no basis to disqualify the firm. In a court filing on Oct 9, the firm said its work for Reddit in the whistleblower matter did not create a conflict of interest that should bar the firm from representing Perplexity now. It also denied it ever agreed not to represent Perplexity.Reddit declined to comment other than to refer to its court filings. Perplexity and Proskauer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The case is part of a wave of copyright cases targeting AI companies over their alleged use of protected content for AI training. Proskauer argues Perplexity should be able to rely on its chosen counsel in a case exposing it to large potential damages.Reddit filed the lawsuit in 2025, alleging Perplexity illegally scraped its online forums for data it needs for its online “answer engine” system. Perplexity has denied Reddit’s copyright infringement claims. Reddit has content licensing deals with Google and others for AI training. REUTERS