Magistrate Judge Thomas Hixon has ordered Meta to identify the executives who authorized the piracy of books from shadow libraries such as Anna's Archive and LibGen. The court directive stems from a discovery order in copyright lawsuits filed by book authors, including Richard Kadrey and Sarah Silverman, and publisher Entrepreneur Media.
TorrentFreak reported that Meta has spent weeks attributing the downloading of torrents to individual staff members. The new order requires the company to clearly identify key decision-makers involved in the process. Testimony from Meta staff who downloaded the files indicates that supervisors, managers, and executives greenlit the piracy.
Meta had previously sought to avoid detailing its chain of command, particularly regarding leadership involved in early AI training efforts. In a court filing, the company claimed its initial efforts to compile massive AI datasets were managed through an "informal approach" where no one with authority made decisions. Meta argued that a decision was "made only in the sense" that some staffers "technically" downloaded torrents. The judge largely agreed with the plaintiffs that Meta must clarify who held the authority to make these choices.