Dhaka, Aug. 10 -- Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, one of the world's biggest by circulation, is suing U.S.-based AI firm Perplexity for allegedly "free-riding" on its content on its search engine.

The lawsuit filed Thursday is one of a slew by media companies worldwide against AI firms using their material and is the first by a major Japanese news organization, Yomiuri said.

It accuses Perplexity of "free-riding on the results of the activities of news organizations, which have invested a great deal of effort and expense."

A spokesman for the paper added that this "could have a negative impact on accurate journalism . and shake the foundations of democracy."

The lawsuit filed in Tokyo seeks damages of Euro2.2 billion equivalent to ...