Menlo Park, CA, February 17, 2025 – Newly unsealed court documents from the case Kadrey v. Meta shed light on internal discussions among Meta employees about the use of copyrighted materials to train the company’s artificial intelligence models.
The filings, submitted by plaintiffs that include prominent authors, indicate that Meta staffers debated methods of incorporating copyrighted content—such as books and online data—obtained through legally questionable means, into training sets for models in the company’s Llama family.
According to the documents, internal work chats revealed that some Meta employees advocated an “ask forgiveness, not for permission” approach when considering the use of copyrighted works. In one discussion, research engineer Xavier Martinet suggested acquiring e-books at retail prices as an alternative to negotiating licensing deals with publishers. He noted that many startups were likely already using pirated content for similar purposes, arguing that direct licensing negotiations could be time-consuming.
Senior manager Melanie Kambadur and colleagues also discussed potential data sources, including Libgen—a website known for providing access to copyrighted works without authorization. One chat highlighted that some within the team viewed using Libgen as essential for achieving state-of-the-art model performance, despite its controversial legal status. To mitigate legal exposure, proposals were made to remove data marked as pirated and to refrain from publicly citing the use of such datasets.
The filings further reveal that Meta’s internal strategy included tuning AI models to “avoid IP risky prompts,” such as requests to reproduce extensive excerpts from copyrighted texts. Additional conversations touched on the possibility of revisiting previous decisions on training sets, with some team members arguing that Meta’s proprietary data from its social platforms was insufficient to meet the growing demands for training material.
Meta maintains that training its models on copyrighted works falls under “fair use,” a position that is contested by the plaintiffs in the case. The plaintiffs, which include well-known authors Sarah Silverman and Ta-Nehisi Coates, argue that Meta’s practices violate copyright law. In response, Meta has bolstered its legal team with Supreme Court litigators from the law firm Paul Weiss.
The case, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, continues to raise complex questions about the balance between technological innovation, intellectual property rights, and the legal frameworks governing AI training data.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, unveiled a free standalone artificial intelligence (AI) app for its Meta AI assistant on Tuesday, marking a significant move as part of the growing wave of new AI apps in the tech industry.
Meta is launching its first-ever AI developer conference, LlamaCon, on Tuesday, aiming to re-engage the developer community and spotlight the company’s Llama family of open AI models.
Brussels has fined Apple and Meta over €700 million combined, launching its first crackdown under the Digital Markets Act aimed at curbing big tech’s power and boosting competition in the digital economy.
Apple and Meta have been fined €500 million and €200 million respectively by the European Union for breaching the bloc’s new Digital Markets Act, escalating tensions in the transatlantic tech trade dispute.
A former Meta executive, Sarah Wynn-Williams, testified before U.S. senators on Wednesday, alleging that the company compromised national security to build a lucrative business in China.
The Israeli army's violation of the Lebanon border with tanks and armored vehicles has led to a breach of the ceasefire agreement. Israeli soldiers approached within 100 meters of the Lebanese army stationed near the Alma al-Shab village and began creating soil barriers in the area.
Countries will meet at the United Nations this week to discuss the regulation of AI-controlled autonomous weapons, which are increasingly used in modern warfare. Experts warn that failing to regulate this new technology could lead to serious risks, and time is running out.
Violent Clashes in Tripoli: Head of Stability Support Forces Killed
India has fired a series of missiles into Pakistani-controlled territory, in what it has described as “Operation Sindoor”
For the first time in history, an American has been chosen to lead the Catholic Church, as Cardinal Robert Prevost is named pope.
A Rafale fighter jet operated by the Indian Air Force has reportedly been shot down for the first time in combat, according to sources cited by CNN, marking a significant and symbolic development in the ongoing escalation between India and Pakistan.
Pope Leo XIV made a surprise visit to the Basilica of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Genazzano. AnewZ covered the event, with journalist Maria Rodriguez Abalde on-site. She witnessed the occasion firsthand and documented key moments. More images and footage will be available soon.
Countries are gathering at the United Nations on Monday to reignite efforts to regulate AI-controlled autonomous weapons, as experts warn that urgent action is needed to prevent misuse of these increasingly prevalent technologies in modern warfare.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has launched HUMAIN, a Public Investment Fund (PIF)-owned company focused on advancing artificial intelligence, with plans to become a global leader in AI technologies and infrastructure
Chinese tech giant Baidu has filed a patent application for a groundbreaking artificial intelligence system capable of translating animal sounds and behavior into human language, according to a report by the South China Morning Post.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted SpaceX regulatory approval to significantly increase the number of Starship rocket launches from its Texas facility, marking a major step forward in the company's efforts to develop its next-generation Mars rocket.
Scientists in the UK have developed a super-strong antibody that could dramatically improve how the immune system attacks cancer cells by boosting its activation power.
The Israeli army's violation of the Lebanon border with tanks and armored vehicles has led to a breach of the ceasefire agreement. Israeli soldiers approached within 100 meters of the Lebanese army stationed near the Alma al-Shab village and began creating soil barriers in the area.
Countries will meet at the United Nations this week to discuss the regulation of AI-controlled autonomous weapons, which are increasingly used in modern warfare. Experts warn that failing to regulate this new technology could lead to serious risks, and time is running out.
Violent Clashes in Tripoli: Head of Stability Support Forces Killed
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment