Publishers Sue Meta for Allegedly Using Copyrighted Works to Train AI

By Katherine Hamilton

A group of publishers have filed a class action lawsuit against Meta Platforms, alleging the tech conglomerate illegally used their copyrighted works to source and train its AI platform.

Publishers including Cengage Learning, Hachette, Macmillan, McGraw and Scott Turow are demanding a jury trial to review their claims of copyright infringement.

They said Meta accessed millions of books and journal articles from pirating sites, which the company then allegedly used to train its AI platform Llama.

The publishers also claimed Meta stripped copyright-management information from the works to conceal its training sources and facilitate the unauthorized use.

The lawsuit also names Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, who the publishers claimed personally authorized and actively encouraged the copyright infringement.

The "defendants engaged in one of the most massive infringements of copyrighted materials in history," the publishers said in the suit.

Meta didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Write to Katherine Hamilton at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-05-26 1129ET