Item 1A. Risk Factors
Item 1A. Risk Factors
There has not been a material change in our risk factors since the filing of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, except for the risk factor set forth below.
Generative AI and related technologies could present risks and challenges to our business.
Developments in the use of generative AI and related technologies make it easier to access, duplicate, and distribute our content, or otherwise generate output based on our content, without authorization, fair compensation, or proper attribution. These technologies may reduce our online traffic and audience sizes, infringe our intellectual property rights, and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Our reputation may also be harmed if these technologies wrongly attribute inaccurate information to us. We seek to limit such threats; however, policing unauthorized use of our content and intellectual property is often difficult and the steps taken by us may not prevent misuse and infringement of our intellectual property. Although we do not believe these threats have been material to our businesses to date, we expect to continue to be subject to these threats and there can be no assurance that we will not experience a negative impact on our business as a result of them.
The use of copyrighted material by generative AI and related technologies has not been fully interpreted by federal, state, or international courts, and the legal and regulatory framework for generative AI continues to evolve and remains uncertain. It is possible that new laws and regulations will be adopted in the jurisdictions in which we operate, or existing laws and regulations may be interpreted in new ways, which may affect how operators of generative AI and related technologies seek to use our content. For example, in 2024 California enacted a range of laws regulating the use and development of AI, which generally relate to transparency, privacy, and fairness, among other concerns. Furthermore, in Europe the EU’s AI Act was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on July 12, 2024 and entered into force on August 1, 2024. We are still evaluating the impact of these laws on our business. The cost for us to enforce such laws and regulations, or otherwise protect our content and intellectual property rights, could be significant. On April 24, 2025, we filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, Inc. alleging copyright infringement, violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, unjust enrichment and trademark dilution as a result of OpenAI’s unlawful and unauthorized copying and use of our content. See Item 1 – Legal Proceedings for additional information. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in this litigation, or in preventing other generative AI developers from using our content without authorization or fair compensation. Our business, brand, financial condition and results of operations may suffer as a result.
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