The New York Times, led by CEO Meredith Kopit Levien, is intensifying its lawsuit against OpenAI, asserting that the company unlawfully used copyrighted articles to train its large language models (LLMs). Levien emphasized the high stakes of the case during an interview at the Axios House event in Cannes. This legal action is part of a broader trend where media organizations are taking legal measures against AI developers over content scraping and training practices that threaten original journalism. As of mid-2026, the court proceedings have involved orders related to data preservation and the discovery process.
OpenAI: OpenAI is an artificial intelligence research and deployment company best known for developing generative AI tools including ChatGPT and underlying large language models. The news directly references OpenAI as the defendant in The New York Times’ copyright lawsuit alleging improper use of news content for model training.
Sara Fischer: Sara Fischer is a journalist specializing in media industry coverage who frequently reports on news organizations and technology developments. In this instance, she conducted the interview with The New York Times CEO at #AxiosHouse in Cannes focused on the OpenAI lawsuit.
The New York Times: The New York Times is a leading global news organization that produces journalism across print, digital, and multimedia platforms. In this news, its CEO publicly highlighted the high stakes of the company’s ongoing lawsuit against OpenAI over the unauthorized use of its articles to train large language models.
Meredith Kopit Levien: Meredith Kopit Levien serves as CEO of The New York Times, overseeing its business strategy and operations in a rapidly evolving media landscape. She is quoted in the news speaking at an Axios event in Cannes about the significant implications of the newspaper’s lawsuit against OpenAI.
Lawsuit Context: The New York Times lawsuit against OpenAI centers on allegations that the AI company used copyrighted news articles without permission to train its large language models.
Media-AI Tensions: Publishers continue to pursue legal action against AI developers over content scraping and training practices that impact original journalism.
Recent Developments: Court proceedings in the case have included orders related to data preservation and ongoing discovery as of mid-2026.