Connect with us

Business

Perplexity gives Apple new reason not to acquire the AI company

Published

on


Perplexity has long been accused of deliberately bypassing anti-scraping measures to retrieve web content. While the company has historically dismissed these accusations as disingenuous or misunderstandings, a new report shows that not only is the practice still happening, but it may actually be getting worse.

Perplexity’s main counter-argument: semantics

The issue with Perplexity’s web crawling practices first came to light in June 2024, when Wired and other media outlets accused the company of ignoring the Robots Exclusion Protocol, and pulling content from their websites.

At the time, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas said the culprit was an unnamed third-party web crawling vendor, and that there was “a basic misunderstanding of the way this works.”

It wasn’t long before other publications started accusing Perplexity of plagiarism and unethical web scraping, with The New York Times and the BBC even issuing legal threats. At the time, Perplexity said the BBC was being “manipulative and opportunistic”, and had a “fundamental misunderstanding of technology, the internet and intellectual property law”.

Since then, Perplexity has repeatedly denied this line of accusation, disputing the definition of crawling and scraping in specific use cases. As Wired reported:

In other words, if a user manually provides a URL to an AI, Perplexity says its AI isn’t acting as a web crawler but rather a tool to assist the user in retrieving and processing information they requested. But to Wired and many other publishers, that’s a distinction without a difference because visiting a URL and pulling the information from it to summarize the text sure looks a whole lot like scraping if it’s done thousands of times a day.

Likewise, Srinivas has promised in the past that the company would make it easier to go to the original source of the content surfaced by their answer engine. However, this does not address the fact that the problem is in the sourcing of information, rather than just how it’s presented.

Cloudflare says Perplexity is going out of its way to go after data it is explicitly being told not to crawl

Today, Cloudflare published a report that claims that even when a server specifically denies all automated access, and includes specific rules that block crawling from Perplexity’s public crawlers, Perplexity reportedly does it anyway.

According to Cloudflare:

“We observed that Perplexity uses not only their declared user-agent, but also a generic browser intended to impersonate Google Chrome on macOS when their declared crawler was blocked. Both their declared and undeclared crawlers were attempting to access the content for scraping contrary to the web crawling norms as outlined in RFC 9309. This undeclared crawler utilized multiple IPs not listed in Perplexity’s official IP range, and would rotate through these IPs in response to the restrictive robots.txt policy and block from Cloudflare. In addition to rotating IPs, we observed requests coming from different ASNs in attempts to further evade website blocks. This activity was observed across tens of thousands of domains and millions of requests per day. We were able to fingerprint this crawler using a combination of machine learning and network signals.”

In a statement to The Verge, Perplexity called the blog post a “publicity stunt”, and said that “there are a lot of misunderstandings in the blog post.”

To be fair, the accusation of unduly scraping or pulling web content to present it as part of an AI-generated answer is definitely not exclusive to Perplexity. In the past, OpenAI’s crawling practices were likened to DDoS attacks. The same goes for Anthropic.

It’s also worth remembering that the Robots Exclusion Protocol isn’t a law, but rather a widely followed convention. Still, Cloudflare’s investigation specifically called out Perplexity, which also happens to be the company reportedly under Apple’s consideration for an acquisition. So here we are.

Does Apple really need this headache?

There is absolutely nothing stopping Apple from acquiring Perplexity. In fact, I currently believe that it is more likely that Apple will acquire it, than not. To be perfectly honest, I’m half-expecting the announcement to come out before I’m done writing this piece.

And Apple should buy a company like Perplexity.

But given Apple’s stance on privacy and on doing what is right, should it really acquire a company with such a loaded background and, frankly, attitude?

It is perfectly possible that Apple may believe that under its culture, under its leadership, and under its ethical web crawling practices, it may be able to render the inbound tech free of the supposed sins of the past. But this wouldn’t erase the fact that Perplexity only got to where it got because it did what it reportedly did.

Of course, if Apple decides to acquire Perplexity, that will (hopefully) mean that the company did its due diligence, and didn’t find anything legally compromising.

But it might also mean Apple feels pressured enough to compromise, however slightly, on its core principles to catch up. And if that turns out to be the case, it would be more disappointing than its current lag in AI.

AirPods deals on Amazon

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.



Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Business

Start Your AI Agency Launches 90-Day Global AI Training Program to Build Lucrative AI Service Businesses

Published

on


Start Your AI Agency, under the leadership of CEO Greg Squibbs, has announced the 90-Day global AI training program that enables individuals to build lucrative, location-independent businesses by using artificial intelligence.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates–(Newsfile Corp. – August 31, 2025) – Start Your AI Agency has launched a 90-Day global AI training program to build lucrative AI service businesses. The company’s core offering is a free training program that introduces the proprietary AI Layering Strategy – a system inspired by proven practices from leading global tech innovators. This model allows entrepreneurs to streamline their outreach, automate service delivery, and operate businesses 24/7 from anywhere in the world without the need for complex software or large teams.

Cannot view this image? Visit: https://aistoriz.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/262414_87e4e1ac64487862_001.jpg

CEO Greg Squibbs

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8703/262414_87e4e1ac64487862_001full.jpg

For digital entrepreneurs looking to launch and scale AI-powered service businesses, Start Your AI Agency 90-Day training program focuses on actionable steps and replicable systems that are accessible to them with no prior experience in AI or coding. By simplifying advanced AI technologies and integrating them into everyday business operations, the program helps to bridge the gap between innovation and execution.

The program supports a wide range of professionals, including freelancers, consultants, and business owners, who are seeking to modernize their services using AI.

Greg Squibbs, a long-time advocate for technological innovation, emphasizes the importance of AI education for long-term success. As he has stated, “Artificial intelligence, automation, team building – if you don’t understand it – learn it. Because otherwise, you’re going to be a dinosaur within three years.”

Furthermore, Start Your AI Agency’s program helps individuals seeking to transition from traditional employment, entrepreneurs aiming to scale digital operations, and professionals interested in integrating automation into their service-based businesses.

About Start Your AI Agency:

Start Your AI Agency is a global training platform dedicated to helping individuals build and scale AI-powered service businesses. Founded with the vision to democratize access to artificial intelligence, the company provides step-by-step training, tools, and automation systems that enable entrepreneurs to launch high-profit, location-independent agencies. With a focus on simplicity, scalability, and real-world application, Start Your AI Agency has become a trusted launchpad for thousands of digital entrepreneurs worldwide. Under the leadership of CEO Greg Squibbs, the company continues to drive innovation and empower the next generation of AI-focused business owners.

For more information, visit at https://www.startyouraiagency.com.

Media Contact:

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/262414



Source link

Continue Reading

Business

Norway signs £10bn deal for anti-submarine warships built in UK | BAE Systems

Published

on


Norway has agreed a £10bn deal for anti-submarine warships that will be built in the UK, as the two countries plan joint operations in northern Europe to deal with increased Russian activity.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the agreement to build Type 26 frigates was the UK’s biggest ever warship export deal by value, and Norway’s biggest defence procurement deal.

It said that overall it would provide a £10bn boost to the UK economy and support 4,000 jobs across the UK “well into the 2030s”.

The Type 26 frigates will be built at the BAE Systems shipyards in the Govan area of Glasgow, which employ 2,000 staff and are already constructing eight of the warships for the Royal Navy.

“This £10bn deal is what our plan for change is about,” said the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer. “Creating jobs, driving growth and protecting national security for working people. The export of our world-leading Type 26 frigates will do exactly that, supporting well-paid jobs up and down the United Kingdom, from apprentices to engineers.”

It is estimated that the shipbuilding programme will support 432 businesses, including 103 in Scotland, 47 in the north-west of England and 35 in the West Midlands.

The deal also signals a strengthening of a long-term strategic relationship with Norway, as part of which a combined fleet of 13 frigates will operate jointly in northern Europe.

Eight of the frigates will be British and “at least” five will be Norwegian, with the joint operation designed to “significantly strengthen Nato’s northern flank”.

“This historic defence deal deepens our strategic partnership,” said John Healey, the defence secretary. “With Norway, we will train, operate, deter and – if necessary – fight together. Our navies will work as one, leading the way in Nato, with this deal putting more world-class warships in the north Atlantic to hunt Russian submarines, protect our critical infrastructure and keep both our nations secure.”

Concerns over critical infrastructure around Europe have been raised on multiple occasions in the last year, after the alleged sabotage of the Baltic gas pipeline and undersea internet cables between Finland and Estonia.

Norway was the only other country to participate in the UK carrier strike group’s full deployment this year, and it also collaborates with the UK and Nato partners to safeguard critical undersea infrastructure in northern Europe.

“Norway and the United Kingdom are close allies with common interests and strong bilateral ties,” said Jonas Gahr Støre, Norway’s prime minister. “I am confident that the strategic partnership with the UK for purchasing, developing and operating frigates is the right decision.”

The Scottish secretary, Ian Murray, said the decision showed the “tremendous success” of Scotland’s shipbuilding industry and was an example of another “defence dividend” for the country.

The Type 26 frigate features sophisticated weapons, and advanced sensors and communications. Its design enables the warship to be upgraded to “counter emerging threats”, according to the MoD’s statement announcing the deal.

Charles Woodburn, the chief executive of BAE Systems, said: “The Norwegian government’s decision reflects its confidence in British industry’s ability to deliver a superior anti-submarine warfare platform, together with systems and equipment, that will support its future maritime security and reinforce its position within Nato.”



Source link

Continue Reading

Business

UK agrees £10bn deal to supply Norway with warships

Published

on


The UK and Norway have agreed a £10bn deal under which Britain will supply the Norwegian navy with at least five new warships.

The agreement involving Type 26 frigates will be the UK’s “biggest ever warship export deal by value”, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said, while Norway said it would be its largest “defence capability investment” to date.

The government said the deal would support 4,000 UK jobs “well into the 2030s”, including more than 2,000 at BAE Systems’ Glasgow shipyards where the frigates will be built.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the agreement would “drive growth and protect national security for working people”.

“This success is testament to the thousands of people across the country who are not just delivering this next generation capabilities for our Armed Forces but also national security for the UK, our Norwegian partners and Nato for years to come,” he added.

The deal is also expected to support more than 400 British businesses, including 103 in Scotland, the MoD said.

The agreement represents a victory for the British government and defence industry over France, Germany and the United States – which were also being considered by Norway as possible vendors.

It will create a combined UK-Norwegian fleet of 13 anti-submarine frigates – eight British and five Norwegian vessels – to operate jointly in northern Europe, significantly strengthening Nato’s northern flank.

The warships will be constructed at the BAE systems yard in the Govan area of Glasgow, where frigates for the Royal Navy are currently being built.

Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said the choice of the UK “demonstrates the tremendous success of our shipbuilding industry and showcases the world-class skills and expertise of our workforce on the Clyde”.

Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, who informed Sir Keir of the decision to select the UK in a phone call on Saturday night, said the partnership “represents a historic strengthening of the defence cooperation between our two countries”.

Støre said the government had weighed two questions in its decision: “Who is our most strategic partner? And who has delivered the best frigates?… The answer to both is the United Kingdom.”

The Type 26 frigates purchased by the Royal Norwegian Navy will be as similar as possible to those used by their British counterparts, and have the same technical specifications.

They are specifically designed to detect and track enemy submarines and engage them in combat if necessary, with deliveries are expected to begin in 2030.

UK Defence Secretary John Healey said: “For over 75 years, Britain and Norway have stood together on Nato’s northern and north-eastern frontiers, keeping the UK and Europe safe. This historic defence deal deepens our strategic partnership.

“With Norway, we will train, operate, deter, and – if necessary – fight together.

“Our navies will work as one, leading the way in Nato, with this deal putting more world-class warships in the North Atlantic to hunt Russian submarines, protect our critical infrastructure, and keep both our nations secure.”



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending