Meta Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged Use of Pirated Torrent Data for AI Training

2025-01-20

Authors are suing Meta for allegedly using their copyrighted works without permission to train its AI models. The lawsuit claims Meta used BitTorrent to download and share millions of pirated books from the shadow library LibGen. While Meta admitted to using unofficial sources, it argued fair use. However, plaintiffs are seeking Meta's BitTorrent client logs and seeding data to prove willful infringement. A judge allowed further investigation into the 'seeding' aspect, potentially impacting Meta's fair use defense and significantly altering the case's trajectory.