Court orders Meta to disclose executives who approved torrent-based AI data collection

Meta faces a discovery order in multiple copyright lawsuits alleging it used illegally obtained books to train its AI systems. The order, issued by Magistrate Judge Thomas Hixon, compels the company to reveal which executives authorized the torrenting of large data sets from shadow libraries such as LibGen and Anna’s Archive. Employees who downloaded the files testified that approvals came from senior staff, with one noting a director or VP level sign-off was needed.

Internal messages reportedly show that a decision to download from LibGen followed an escalation to Mark Zuckerberg. Meta has argued that no senior official made a formal decision and that any “decision” was limited to staff actions, but plaintiffs contend the company willfully induced infringement. The ruling could expose a broader chain of command within Meta’s AI training program.