New York Times, AFP Join Coalition to Protect Content From AI

The New York Times, Agence France-Presse (AFP), and The Economist have joined a growing international coalition seeking to protect publishers' copyrighted content from unauthorized use by artificial intelligence companies.

The Standards for Publisher Usage Rights (SPUR) coalition announced Monday that more than 40 additional publishers had joined the initiative, bringing its membership to over 80 organizations across more than 20 countries.

Established in February, SPUR aims to create common standards governing how AI developers access, use, and monetize news content. Its expanding membership includes The Atlantic and Brazil's National Association of Newspapers, alongside founding organizations such as the Financial Times, BBC, and Associated Press.

The coalition's expansion comes as media companies intensify legal challenges against AI firms accused of using copyrighted material without authorization to train large language models.

Earlier this month, USA Today and several affiliated newspapers filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI. The ChatGPT developer and its major investor, Microsoft, are also facing similar legal disputes involving prominent authors and media organizations, including The New York Times.

SPUR, which operates entirely through member funding, is developing technical tools and industry-wide guidelines designed to give publishers greater control over their intellectual property. These initiatives also aim to support transparent content licensing agreements between news organizations and AI companies.

Rebecca Grossman-Cohen, the New York Times' head of strategic partnerships and chief of staff, emphasized the importance of balancing innovation with copyright protection.

"Intellectual property protection and technological advancement can and must co-exist," she said.

Beyond copyright concerns, publishers face mounting pressure from declining website traffic as Google and other search platforms increasingly display AI-generated answers directly in search results.

According to a Reuters Institute report citing Chartbeat data, Google organic search referrals to more than 2,500 websites declined 33% worldwide between November 2024 and November 2025.

To address transparency concerns, SPUR recently introduced its Content Telemetry Standard, a framework intended to help AI agents consistently document and report their use of publisher content.

The initiative seeks to ensure that news organizations can monitor how their material is used by AI systems and receive appropriate compensation through licensing arrangements.