French publishers and authors have launched a legal challenge against Meta (NASDAQ:META), accusing the social media giant of illegally using their copyrighted works to train its artificial intelligence models.
Three prominent trade groups announced Wednesday they are filing a lawsuit in a Paris court, alleging Meta’s “massive use of copyrighted works without authorization.”
The National Publishing Union (SNE), representing book publishers, revealed that “numerous works” from its members are appearing in Meta’s AI training data.
SNE President Vincent Montagne, in a joint statement, accused Meta of “noncompliance with copyright and parasitism.”
Joining the legal action are the National Union of Authors and Composers (SNAC), representing 700 writers, playwrights, and composers, and the Societe des Gens de Lettres, representing authors.
SNAC President Francois Peyrony expressed concern about “AI which plunders their works and cultural heritage to train itself,” and the rise of AI-generated “fake books” that compete with authentic publications.
The groups are demanding the “complete removal” of Meta’s unauthorized data directories used for AI training.
Meta, which has recently integrated generative AI chatbot assistants into its Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp platforms, has not yet responded to requests for comment.
This lawsuit underscores the growing tension between creative industries and technology companies over the use of data and copyright in the development of AI.
The plaintiffs are leveraging the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act, which mandates that generative AI systems comply with EU copyright law and maintain transparency regarding training data.