Mark Zuckerberg accused of personally backing Meta's copyright infringement to train AI systems

The lawsuit accuses Meta Platforms of copying millions of copyrighted works without permission

Meta and CEO Mark Zuckerberg are facing a major new lawsuit from a coalition of publishers and author Scott Turow, who allege the tech giant illegally used copyrighted books and articles to train its artificial intelligence systems, according to multiple reports.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New York, accuses Meta Platforms of copying millions of copyrighted works without permission to develop its Llama AI models. Publishers involved in the case include major names such as Elsevier, Macmillan, Hachette, Cengage, and McGraw Hill, all of whom claim their materials were used without compensation or licensing agreements.

According to the complaint, Meta allegedly sourced content from piracy websites and large datasets containing unauthorised copies of books and journal articles. The plaintiffs argue this constitutes “one of the most massive infringements of copyrighted materials in history,” and claim the company even removed copyright management information to obscure the origins of the data.

The lawsuit also names Zuckerberg personally, alleging he approved or was aware of the practices used to obtain and utilise the material for AI training. The case has been filed as a proposed class action, meaning it could expand to include additional authors and rights holders if certified by the court.

Meta has strongly denied the allegations and said it plans to fight the case. The company maintains that training AI models on copyrighted material can fall under “fair use", a legal doctrine that allows limited use of protected content without permission in certain circumstances.

The lawsuit marks the latest escalation in a growing wave of legal challenges against AI companies, as publishers and creators push back against how their work is used in training generative AI systems. Similar cases against other firms have already led to major settlements and ongoing legal debates that could reshape the boundaries of copyright law in the age of artificial intelligence.