Google-Reddit AI Deal Heralds New Era in Social Media Licensing

Reddit’s blockbuster deal with Google to train artificial intelligence products on the platform’s data is just the beginning of an anticipated licensing bonanza sweeping up content from individuals who have little recourse, thanks to user agreements’ catch-all copyright provisions.

Alphabet Inc.'s Google inked a licensing deal with Reddit Inc. reportedly worth $60 million annually last month to train its large language models on the platform’s extensive user-generated content. It’s the first major public licensing deal between a US social media giant and an external AI company. But other agreements are expected to follow given the massive troves of data the ...