Meta faces legal pressure to name executives linked to book piracy

In copyright lawsuits related to AI training, Meta has been accused of shifting blame onto staff for downloading torrents. A court order now requires the company to identify executives who authorized decisions to pirate books from shadow libraries like Anna’s Archive and LibGen. The order, issued by Magistrate Judge Thomas Hixon, impacts a class action led by authors Richard Kadrey and Sarah Silverman, as well as a lawsuit from publisher Entrepreneur Media. The judge agreed that Meta must clearly name key decision-makers, potentially exposing a broader range of supervisors and executives. Meta had previously attempted to avoid detailing the chain of command, especially for leadership involved in early AI training. According to a court filing, the company claimed its initial efforts to build AI datasets were managed through an informal approach, with no one holding formal authority making decisions. Instead, Meta argued that a 'decision' was made only in the sense that some staff technically downloaded torrents.