GoKawiilUnsealed filings show Microsoft, OpenAI executives privately warned of news-content theft
Newly unsealed court documents from The New York Times-led copyright lawsuit reveal internal Microsoft and OpenAI communications acknowledging the risks of scraping news content for AI training. Microsoft's Brent Hecht reportedly called the practice possibly the 'largest theft of labor in human history' and undermined the companies' own fair-use defense, while OpenAI's Nick Turley warned that AI products could pose an 'existential threat' to publishers.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
These disclosures could seriously damage Microsoft and OpenAI's legal defense that training AI on copyrighted news content qualifies as fair use, since their own executives privately described the practice as exploitative and economically destructive to the news industry. The case could set a major precedent for how courts treat AI companies' use of journalistic content, with billions of dollars and the future of digital publishing at stake.
- Unsealed documents reveal Microsoft and OpenAI executives privately doubted their fair-use defense for scraping news content.
- A Microsoft director called the practice possibly the largest theft of labor in history, undermining the companies' legal position.
- OpenAI's ChatGPT lead warned that AI products threaten the economic survival of news publishers.
Source: arstechnica.com, 2026-09-17
Published there as: “Microsoft exec called AI scraping the “largest theft of labor in human history””
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