GoKawiilMeta ordered to identify executives who approved book piracy for AI training
A federal magistrate judge has ordered Meta to disclose which executives and managers authorized the torrenting of books from shadow libraries like Anna's Archive and LibGen for AI training data. The ruling, reported by TorrentFreak, affects a class action from authors including Sarah Silverman and Richard Kadrey, as well as a separate suit from Entrepreneur Media. Meta had argued the downloading occurred through an informal process with no clear decision-maker, a characterization the court rejected.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The ruling could force Meta to reveal a chain of command reaching into senior leadership, potentially implicating executives beyond the rank-and-file staff the company has pointed to so far. This matters for the broader AI copyright litigation landscape, where plaintiffs are trying to establish that companies knowingly chose infringement as a shortcut to building training datasets rather than an accident of low-level employees. Internal messages showing staff discomfort with the practice could also undercut Meta's framing in front of a jury.
- A judge ordered Meta to name executives who authorized torrenting books for AI training.
- The order affects lawsuits from authors like Sarah Silverman and publisher Entrepreneur Media.
- Internal messages show some Meta staff objected to directives to torrent copyrighted books.
Source: arstechnica.com, 2026-10-20
Published there as: “Meta tries to scapegoat staff who downloaded torrents to spare execs”
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