Meta has reportedly halted efforts to license books for training its AI models, according to new court filings in the ongoing case Kadrey v. Meta Platforms. This development supports earlier claims that the tech giant faced challenges in negotiating with publishers.
In depositions, Sy Choudhury, head of Meta’s AI partnerships, revealed that outreach to publishers resulted in slow responses and limited engagement. Many publishers, especially in the fiction sector, reportedly lacked the rights to license their content, complicating negotiations.
The filings indicate that Meta paused these licensing efforts in early April 2023 due to timing and logistical issues. Additionally, the complaints from authors like Sarah Silverman and Ta-Nehisi Coates suggest that Meta may have used pirated books from “shadow libraries” to train its AI models, raising serious copyright concerns. ⚖️
As the legal battle continues, Meta’s future in AI book licensing remains uncertain.
