News Corp CEO Robert Thomson warned during his company's fiscal fourth-quarter earnings call Wednesday that AI companies accused of using the media giant's content illegally could face legal action, and so could their customers.
"Artificial intelligence itself is only as useful, only as trustworthy, as the quality and integrity of its inputs," Thomson said. Without professionally produced journalism and other creative work, he argued, users would be left "drowning in a slimy sea of AI slop."
According to The Wrap, News Corp owns The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, and publisher HarperCollins. The company has existing licensing partnerships with OpenAI and Meta and is in what Thomson described as "advanced discussions with several other honorable companies." At the same time, it is pursuing legal action against companies it accuses of unlawfully using its content.
Thomson specifically named AI search company Perplexity and browser developer Brave. He described Brave as "a company brave in name only," accusing it of using masked web crawlers to collect copyrighted articles and repackage the material for business customers.
"Companies who buy from these pirates should know that they are in possession of stolen goods," Thomson said, adding that News Corp expects its lawsuits to expose and halt what it alleges is illegal conduct.
Thomson extended the potential reach of that legal campaign beyond AI developers themselves. "We're focusing not just on companies that have scraped and stolen our content, but on their clients who, knowingly or unknowingly, have purchased stolen goods," he said. "As for litigation, it's far from over."
Thomson also addressed questions about whether AI licensing deals provide enough value to publishers as search referral traffic continues to decline. He pushed back on the idea that the company's relationships with OpenAI and Meta are simple commercial arrangements. "We are creators; they are savvy distributors," he said. "Our inputs are crucial components of their outputs."
He said future agreements could include both broad partnerships with major AI platforms and more specialized deals with companies building industry-specific products. He also confirmed that News Corp's existing agreement with Meta is already contributing to the company's business results. "There are more deals to come," Thomson said, "and hopefully not too much litigation."
