What is to prevent an AI engine like Anthropic from simply buying a membership and then having access to that data with which to answer questions?
It may be a problem, depending on the players' integrity and how things play out in the future. But the industry has taken steps to address what they can: AI operators face strict laws on data usage, such as GDPR and CCPA, which prohibit scraping personal or proprietary data without consent, even if accessed via a paid membership. Courts have ruled against unauthorized scraping in cases like Getty Images v. Stability AI, creating liability for infringement. Buying access doesn't grant rights to repurpose data for AI training, violating terms of service and IP laws. Membership sites use CAPTCHAs, robust authentication, and bot detection to block automated access, even from paid accounts. Features like robots.txt (though bypassable), data obfuscation, and paywall restrictions limit scraping effectiveness. Private communities encrypt data and restrict it to verified humans, making bulk extraction impractical. Memberships explicitly ban scraping in their Terms of Service, with clauses retaining data ownership for the provider and prohibiting commercial reuse. AI firms risk account bans, lawsuits, or refunds denial upon detection. Economically, scaling this across sites invites high legal costs and reputational damage, deterring widespread adoption.